Shadows of the Past
by M.H. Torringjan
Summary: The Dark Moon is going after the Crystal Carriers again, and another ally appears to aid them against the new danger. C&C is appreciated.
1. The Psychic

Usual spiel here. I don't claim to own any of the Sailor Moon characters   
(except for the ones that I make up). The person who does own them is Naoko   
Takeuchi, the CEO of DiC, the CEO of Bandai, and many others. I'm sure that if   
I did own any of the Sailor Moon stuff, I would be trying to get DiC to be doing   
a better job with the dub. But anyway, without any further ado...  
Oh, by the way, a little further ado here. I would like to apologize for   
any mistakes in my stories. If there are any major ones that affect the   
outcome, tell me in an e-mail to:jmh6187@uncwil.edu. I will read them and   
consider them for further stories, because I won't be able to change the ones   
that have been already posted. Also, there will be Raye/Serena fights, but they   
won't be at the usual quality. I'm a beginner.  
This story is rated somewhere between PG and PG-13. I say this because   
there is no language, but there are a lot of guns shooting off.  
  
Shadows From the Past  
by: M.H. Torringjan  
  
Part 1: The Psychic  
  
Amy looked up from her book, A Tale of Two Cities. The phone was ringing.   
Amy closed the red-bound book and picked up the receiver.  
"Anderson residence," she said.  
"Amy?" said a familiar voice from the other end. "It's Greg."  
"Oh, hi, Greg! Why are you calling?"  
"I was wondering, could you come and meet me in the park?"  
"Why? When?"  
"Right now. I can't tell you over the phone."  
"I'll be right there."  
Amy hung up and got her coat on. It was a cold night in the middle of   
December. She told her mother where she was going and headed for the door.   
On her way out, she grabbed her book. What she forgot, though, was a little more important.   
Her transformation pen and communicator laid on the bed side table, forgotten.  
  
"Ahhh..." Rubeus said, grinning, "The dweeb forgot her equipment. This is   
the perfect time to put my new plan into effect. Droid Walker, come forth!"  
A tall, steel Droid walked forward into the light. His eye shone a laser   
targeting system in Rubeus's face.  
"Turn that thing off!" Rubeus commanded. The light went off.  
The robot's spindly legs looked like they were barely able to hold up its   
big body. He had a gun on his arm, able to shoot two hundred different types of   
ammo from stun gun pellets to thermal detonators. His outer shields were   
reinforced with titanium alloy. He was close to invincible.  
"I want you to go and take this boy prisoner," Rubeus said, showing him   
Greg through the mirror. The Droid warped out to go after his prey. "And don't   
screw up like the last ones did."  
  
Amy had reached the park and was looking around for Greg. She found him   
sitting on the bench that she had laid him down on when he had been changed into   
his Shadow Warrior counterpart. He was feeding some ducks that were, curiously   
enough, out at night. He looked up when she approached him.  
"I knew that you'd come," he said.  
"Mostly because I said that I would," Amy replied. She could remember the   
first time that she had felt some affinity to Greg. He had just saved her from   
being crushed by a steel I-beam. She had to save him soon after, with the help   
of the other Scouts. She never admitted publicly to having a relationship with   
him, even after she had gone with him to the amusement park and saved him a   
second time. "Now, why did you want me to come out here?"  
"We've got problems. The Negaverse wants the Carriers again. I'm going   
to be their first target."  
"Why?" Amy asked.  
"Probably because they feel that I'm too much of a threat to them, and   
because you don't have your communicator or transformation stick with you."   
Just as he said this, the water of the lake was disturbed by a creature   
splashing into it. Another Droid was coming after them. Amy impulsively   
reached into her pockets.  
"What do you know," Amy said nervously. "I hope that you're a good   
runner, Greg."  
"It won't matter," the Droid said in a purely mechanical voice. With a   
whir, it lunged forward towards the pair. They saw it coming and were able to   
dodge. They were gone in a moment with the Droid in hot pursuit. Well, you   
might call it "hot," but it was living up to its name. It walked down the   
street after the pair. As they ran, it shot a couple of tracking devices at   
them. One hit Greg in the back and Amy in the back of the head, getting tangled   
in her blue hair and digging into her scalp. The tracking device that hit Greg   
dug deep into his back, and neither he nor Amy could pull it out while running.   
When the Droid was a good block (any block being a good block) behind them, they   
slowed down a bit.  
"We should go and get Serena," Amy said.  
"Well, we can try to get there before he gets us," Greg said.  
"Good idea," Amy said. "But without my transformation stick, we're   
practically helpless. What can we do?"  
"Call another of the Scouts, and get them to get your stuff."  
"What if he's tapped the phones?"  
"Now, that's just plain paranoia." They stopped at the next pay-phone,   
and they dialed up Serena's house. Mrs. Tsukino picked up the phone.  
"Hello?"  
"I'd like to speak with Serena, please," Amy said into the phone.  
"Of course, Amy," Serena's mother said as she put the phone on the table   
to get Serena. If she only knew how urgent this was. About thirty seconds   
passed, and Serena's mother picked up again. "I'm sorry, Amy, but Serena's kind   
of busy right now with homework."  
"Please, Mrs. Tsukino. I need to speak with Serena. It's extremely   
important!"  
"I'll get her," Mrs. Tsukino said exhaustedly as she put the phone down   
again. Gods, why didn't she hurry up? Another span of silence passed before   
there was an answer to the phone. The Droid was gradually coming closer. He   
took aim as Serena answered the phone.  
"Hello?" Serena asked.  
"Oh, crap!" Greg yelled as he pulled Amy out of the booth. She just   
barely missed being fried by a small barrage of explosive bullets. The   
telephone booth burst into flames as Amy and Greg fled the scene.  
  
"Hello?" Serena repeated from the other end at her house. Her mother had   
said that it was Amy on the phone. All she had heard was someone shouting, and   
then silence. That might not have been good. She went upstairs to her room and   
met her mother on the way.  
"What did Amy want?" her mother asked.  
"She needed to ask about some of our homework," Serena replied cautiously.   
She went into her room and picked up her communicator.  
"Who are you calling?" Luna asked.  
"Amy."  
"Why?"  
"I'm worried about something." She dialed up the number for Amy's   
communicator, but no one picked up. "Something's wrong," Serena said.  
"Who was that on the phone?" Luna asked  
"You're feeling downright questioning tonight, aren't you?"  
"Sorry," Luna said defensively. "But I think that you should tell me   
what's troubling you."  
"Mom said that Amy was on the phone, but when I got there, all I heard was   
someone yelling before we got cut off. Now, I can't reach Amy."  
"Sounds like something's wrong," Luna said. "Let's get the others, then   
we'll find Amy."  
"How will we convince Mom to let me go out?" Serena asked apprehensively.  
"The Luna Pen!" Luna exclaimed. Serena reached into her subspace pocket   
and pulled it out.  
"Who should I go as?" she asked.  
"Your father seems like a good persona in this situation," Luna said.   
Serena gave Luna a frown, then held the Pen up high.  
"Disguise Magic! Turn me into my dad!" she exclaimed. She hoped that her   
mother didn't hear the commotion and come to investigate. She looked into the   
mirror and she saw her dad, hairdo and all. She walked out of her room and   
downstairs. She grabbed a coat and tried putting it on. It seemed too small.   
She thought for a moment and realized her blunder. She had accidentally grabbed   
her own coat instead of her father's.  
On her way out, her mother stopped her. "Honey, where are you going?"  
"I'm going out on an errand, Mo... Ma'am."  
"All righty, but what about Serena? Has she finished her homework?"  
"Yes, and she's fast asleep as we speak."  
"Serena asleep at this early hour?"  
"She said something to me about wanting to be at school on time."  
"Makes sense. If I get another call from Serena's teacher about her being   
late, I'll start to get severe on her." The comment made Serena gulp tensely.   
She went outside, where Luna was waiting, and let her disguise down.  
"Are you ready, Luna?" Serena asked as they walked down the front walkway.   
Luna indicated her approval, and they went off towards the home of the closest   
Scout, Lita.  
She and Luna arrived in record time, and they knocked on the door loudly.   
Lita opened the door and admitted them inside with a question about the   
problem, noting their breathlessness.  
"We think that Amy's in trouble! She isn't answering her communicator,"   
Luna said. That effected an immediate reaction from Lita, as threats to her   
friends usually did.  
"Amy! We've gotta help her! Jupiter Star..."  
"Wait!" Luna said. "We don't even know for sure if she's in trouble. We   
should go get the others, too, just in case."  
"But she might be getting her face pounded in by some Droid as we speak!"   
Lita complained. Serena completely agreed with her.  
"All right! You call the others on your communicators, then, we'll go   
together. If you want, Lita, you may go on ahead of us."  
"Thank you, Luna!" Lita said, rushing out of the door.  
"I just hope that she doesn't get herself killed," Serena said.  
  
Amy and Greg were out of breath from running. The Droid was so far behind   
them that it wasn't a threat and wouldn't be for some time. They stopped at a   
bench on the sidewalk to sit down. Amy tried to pry the homing device off of   
Greg's back, but it wasn't coming out without taking some skin, perhaps even   
spinal tissue. Greg took a look at the one in Amy's hair, and tried to take it   
out, but it wasn't moving either.  
"What do we do next?" Amy asked.  
"What do you think I am, a friggin' seer?... Oh, yeah," he said, feeling   
slightly sheepish. He concentrated for a moment, then came up with the answer,   
"I don't know. I can't see anything. Either we altered the timeline that I saw   
originally, so I can't pick it up, or we're killed within the next five   
minutes."  
"I hope that it's the former of the two," Amy said, nervously looking   
around. She was still out of breath, so she couldn't go anywhere. Greg was in   
about as bad a shape as she was, and he was showing it. Suddenly, he pushed her   
off the bench and into the street. He was with her after a second. The bench   
where they had been sitting only a moment before was now a smoldering pile of   
ashes. Amy couldn't figure out how it had happened until she looked at the roof   
of the building behind the bench.  
There stood the Droid, silhouetted in the moonlight. He jumped off the   
roof and landed with a crunch, breaking the cement beneath him. He took aim at   
the two and let loose with a barrage of tranquilizer darts. Amy and Greg dodged   
the shots and ran further down the street. Halfway to their next destination,   
Amy started to slow down. Greg looked at her back and saw a dart sticking out   
of it. She put her arm around his shoulder for support, and they went on.   
Soon, though, Amy couldn't walk on her own. Greg supported her with a shoulder   
until he had to pick her up and carry her down the street as quickly as he   
could.  
He turned down an alleyway to cross over to the next street. When he saw   
what was down the alleyway, though, he turned back quickly. The Droid shot a   
barrage, just barely missing Greg before he dove out of the way. He was too   
tired to run any more, so he turned to face his enemy.  
"Where are the Scouts?" Greg said. "They were supposed to be here by now.   
They'd better get here soon, or I'm toast."  
"Wrong," the Droid said, "You're already toast." He took aim and shot   
Greg with another tranquilizer dart. The tranquilizer acted faster because his   
heart was going at a higher rate than usual. He fell to the ground with a   
grunted curse. The Droid grabbed Greg and teleported out. Amy laid on the   
ground, asleep, where Greg had laid her. She didn't know what had happened.  
  
"Good job, Droid Walker," Rubeus said, beaming. "But I want to know why   
you left the girl laying in the middle of the road!!! You could have taken this   
opportunity to rid us of one of the Sailor Scouts, but NO!!! You've got to take   
your orders so literally that you don't do anything else that makes sense! Now   
get out there and kill her!"  
The Droid teleported out and Rubeus shook his head. "I just don't   
understand some of these idiotic Droids. We should program them with some   
common sense."  
  
Back at the street, Amy was just waking up. "Greg?" she said. "Where did   
he go? Where's the Droid?" For the answer to the second question, the Droid   
appeared out of midair and started to take aim. Just before he shot, though, a   
red rose hit him in the arm. He looked around for the source of the attack. In   
the alley that the Droid had just come from, Tuxedo Mask stood with a slightly   
ticked look on his face.  
"I was in the neighborhood, and I heard a disturbance. I came to   
investigate," he said, anticipating Amy's question of how he got there. "Do you   
want to fight a helpless girl or me?"  
"I'll take the helpless girl," the Droid said, turning back to Amy. As he   
took aim again, Tuxedo Mask threw his cane at the gun. The cane hit the gun and   
knocked it off of its aim. The Droid looked at Tuxedo Mask and tried shooting   
again. Tuxedo kicked it off aim again.  
"Idiot," Rubeus thought to himself from the roof of the nearby building.   
"Why doesn't he fight Tuxedo Mask?" He yelled down to the Droid. "Hey, Walker!   
Stop going after the girl long enough to dispose of Tuxedo Mask and any others   
who're in your way. After killing them, take care of the girl!"  
Tuxedo Mask momentarily considered going after Rubeus, but ruled it out   
when the Droid turned its attention toward Tuxedo Mask. "Uh, oh." The gun   
leveled pointing at him. He was barely able to dodge out of the way before the   
Droid shot a grenade in his direction. The grenade flew past him and into the   
alley. He dodged into an alley across the street to avoid being crushed by   
falling bricks and rocks.  
The building had suffered major structural damage and could fall at any   
moment (there were no people inside the building to worry about; the   
building was scheduled for demolition). Tuxedo Mask would have to save Amy   
quickly. The Droid had jumped to the top of the building that hadn't been   
damaged and was waiting for it to fall so that he could make sure of Tuxedo   
Mask's demise.  
Tuxedo Mask rushed out into the road and scooped Amy up in his arms as he   
ran past her. As he made his way to safety, the building began to fall. He   
barely made it to safety when the building hit the ground. He realized the slim   
margin of safety by the wind and dust from the falling building.  
The Droid knew that they had survived by a scan for the homing device on   
Amy. He headed towards it again. He wouldn't fail Master Rubeus like his   
predecessors.  
  
"Where are they?" Luna asked impatiently. She, Serena, and Raye were   
waiting on the steps of the temple for Mina and Artemis to arrive. "I called   
them fifteen minutes ago, and they said that they would be here right away."   
She called Lita on Serena's communicator. "Have you found her yet?" she asked   
Lita through the communicator. Lita had a slightly distressed look on her face.  
"Not yet, but I've got a lead. A building just fell over on Everton   
Street. I'm going to check it out."  
"Good. Contact us if you find her." Luna turned the communicator off and   
turned to face the other two Scouts.  
"Did anyone just check her home?" Raye asked. "It might be that she just   
didn't hear the communicator go off."  
"I called her home," Serena said. "On our way over here. Her mother said   
that she was out."  
Just then, Mina and Artemis ran up, out of breath.  
"What's up?" Mina asked between pants for breath.  
"You didn't tell us anything over the communicator," Artemis said.  
"We think that Amy is in trouble," Luna said. She went on to explain the   
events that had happened at Serena's house earlier. "We've got Lita out right   
now searching for her. I think that we should do the same. Lita's across town   
already, and we can split up to find her quicker."  
"Right," Artemis said. "Luna, Serena, and I will go to the north side of   
town, Mina, you go to the south side, Raye, you go to the west side."  
"Why'd you have to stick her with us?" Luna asked quietly. She didn't   
want Serena to hear lest her feelings be hurt.  
"The others do just fine alone, sometimes better. I think that she'll be   
better working with us."  
"All right. Scouts, transform!"  
"Moon Crystal Power!"  
"Mars Star Power!"  
"Venus Star Power!"  
The Sailor Scouts stood in the place that the girls had stood only moments   
before, ready for action. Mars was the first to go off, with Venus not waiting   
much longer. Luna and Artemis had to wait for Moon to gather her bearings   
(which, with Serena, takes a while).  
  
Jupiter was nearing the site of the fallen building by leaping from   
rooftop to rooftop. She knew that it shouldn't have fallen. There weren't any   
demolitions scheduled for the next couple of months. She didn't think that   
it had any structural problems, so something must have been afoot.  
When she arrived at the building, there weren't any signs that people were   
present at the time of destruction and still there. That meant that Amy was   
gone unless she had been captured by something.   
She investigated the surroundings to find any trace of which way they had   
gone. Well, let's see here, she thought to herself, There's a smoldering pile   
of ashes where there's usually a tree. Let me think... She headed in that   
direction, looking in every possible place for Amy. After a while of searching,   
though, she started running. She only needed to remember to follow the trail of   
destruction.  
  
Tuxedo Mask was beginning to tire from the exertion of carrying Amy and   
running at the same time. He couldn't stop, though. The Droid was evolving   
intelligence. It had finally figured out how to run, and it was gaining on him.   
Amy was waking up just as they got to the Junior High. Tuxedo Mask put her down   
and tried to wake her up further.  
"Wha...? Greg? Where's Greg?" Amy asked as she woke up.  
"I think that the Droid got him, and if we don't hurry, he'll get us,   
too," Tuxedo Mask answered. "Now, can you transform?"  
"Not without my transformation stick," Amy answered groggily.  
"We've got to get out of here quick. Can you at least walk?"  
"I think so, but wherever we go, he'll follow. He shot me with a tracking   
device. You've got to get out of here, or you'll be killed!"  
"Hey, what's my job? I've got to protect the Sailor Scouts."  
"But you have to protect Sailor Moon most of all."  
"You're all as important as each other. Now stop arguing and try to walk   
as fast as you can." He supported the swaying Amy as she stood up to try and   
walk. She took a couple of steps cautiously and then, tried some without Tuxedo   
Mask. She fell down after the second step.  
"I'm turning into a regular Serena. Uh, oh." She had noticed the Droid   
approaching quickly from the distance. She got up and put her arm across   
Tuxedo's shoulder as they worked their way across the school-ground. The Droid   
took a couple of shots at them but missed, hitting some windows. Miss Haruna   
wouldn't be happy about that one. "Where are we going?" Amy asked frantically.  
"Somewhere that this guy isn't," Tuxedo said as they headed toward the   
inner city.  
  
Sailor Moon was getting bored. She didn't like having to be out this late   
looking for Amy. Amy was probably at home, asleep, like Sailor Moon should have   
been. But then again, she was worried, too.  
She looked off to her left as the cats searched the streets below them.   
All of a sudden, she saw a burst of light as something exploded in the distance.   
She looked in that direction, and she saw a person going from rooftop to   
rooftop, followed by a larger figure that was shooting at him. She directed the   
cats' attention towards the figures, and they decided to follow.  
As they got closer to the figures, she saw that the male figure in the   
front was carrying a smaller, female figure. The figure behind them was a   
Droid. As they got even closer, They were able to place the identities of the   
people in front. It was Tuxedo Mask carrying Amy. A very drowsy Amy, at that.   
Moon didn't know how she could sleep through that noise.  
Luna took Moon's communicator and called up the others. Lita was already   
almost there. She had been following the trail of destruction that had been   
left by the Droid. Raye and Mina were on their way.  
"Stop!" Sailor Moon called when she had gotten close enough for the Droid   
to hear her. "You have no need to mess around with helpless girls like that,   
and you have tampered with communication from place to place! For that, I will   
punish you in the name of the Moon!"  
"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask called as he jumped to the next building. The   
next shot took out the roof of the building from below him. He and Amy fell   
through into the interior of the building. Sailor Moon went through the hole   
after them, only to find them in a formal wear store. She was surrounded by   
tuxedos and dress clothes.  
"Apparently, the Droid's developing a sense of humor," Tuxedo Mask said.   
"Where do you think that we should hide?"  
"Well, that's easy enough for you," Amy said. "You'd blend in, even if   
you weren't in here as Tuxedo Mask. The question is, where do Serena and I   
hide?"  
"Well, you can't hide," Tuxedo said. "Not with that homing device in your   
head. How do we get that off?"  
"It doesn't matter right now. Any second now, that Droid's going to come   
crashing through the roof, and we're going to be in serious trouble," Amy said.  
"Where are the others?" Luna asked impatiently.  
The Droid appeared in the hole, looking for the girls and Tuxedo Mask. He   
shone his laser eye in the hole at the floor where the girls and cats were.   
They scrambled for cover as it jumped in. Sailor Moon got her Moon Scepter out   
and prepared to use it. The Droid used a search beam to find the hiding girls.   
It found Moon first, but ignored her because she wasn't its main target. Moon   
noticed this, and came out of hiding.  
"Why isn't it attacking me?" Moon asked.  
"Because it doesn't consider you a threat," Tuxedo Mask answered quietly.   
Sailor Moon began her attack on the robot while it was searching for Amy.  
"Moon Scepter...!" Before she could finish, though, the Droid grabbed her   
Scepter from her. She was barely able to dodge a shot of energy pellets from   
the laser gun setting on the Droid's arm.  
"Jupiter Thunderclap, ZAP!" Jupiter called from the roof. A shot of   
lightning hit the Droid, short-circuiting its arm gun. It decided to leave the   
others alone for a while and head for Jupiter. On its way out, it dropped   
Moon's Scepter. Moon picked it up as she and Tuxedo jumped onto the roof after   
the Droid to help Jupiter combat it. Luna and Artemis stayed on the ground to   
guard Amy.  
"Hey, Jupiter!" Moon said as she arrived on the scene where Jupiter was.  
"Where's Amy? Is she all right?" Jupiter asked.  
"She's fine. The only thing wrong with her is a bit of a hangover. She   
got shot with a tranquilizer dart. She's inside with Luna and Artemis to guard   
her."  
"I hope they know what they're doing. I mean, they're not exactly the   
strongest of us."  
"Jupiter, concentrate! We've got to take this Droid out!" Tuxedo Mask   
said, throwing a rose and taking out his cane.  
"Good," Moon said, "Draw his attention. We'll attack when he's not paying   
attention."  
"Easier said than done," Mask said, running to the opposite side of the   
roof. He dodged bullets the whole way and nearly took a shot to the head. He   
resumed throwing his roses, and the Droid caught them in mid-air. When Tuxedo   
stopped throwing them, the Droid sent them back at him. He didn't expect this,   
and wasn't able to get out of the path of the flowers before he was cut. He   
grabbed his face at the sites of the cuts. They were bleeding.  
Oh, well, he thought to himself. I've had worse. He looked back to where   
the two girls stood. They were urging him to get on with his attack. He turned   
to his alternate weapon, his cane. He ran towards the Droid with it   
outstretched. The Droid struggled with him a moment before taking it away from   
him. During those couple of seconds, though, the Sailors got enough time to   
utilize their own attacks.  
"Jupiter Thunderclap, ZAP!!!" Jupiter called, letting loose with one of   
her strongest blasts. The Droid let go of the cane and Tuxedo Mask.  
"Moon Scepter, Elimination!" Moon yelled, letting all her aggression take   
over. The robot was hit with the attack, and it was disintegrated. The dust   
left behind quickly piled up. Rubeus was glad that he wasn't there to hear the   
snotty brat's exclamation of, "Moon Dusted!"  
  
"Amy, are you okay?" Lita asked from outside of Amy's hiding place. Amy   
peeked out to make sure that it was Lita and not some monster who had taken   
Lita's voice. Lita stood there with a slightly concerned look on her face.  
"Yes, Lita, I'm fine. Is the Droid gone?" Amy asked. She crept out of   
her hiding place to check the scene. "I've got to get this homing device off of   
me." And as if what she had said was a secret pass code, the device detached   
from her scalp and fell to the ground. "It must have been de-activated when the   
Droid was destroyed. I could do some good analyses on this hardware, and maybe   
find out something about our enemy."  
"That would be cool, Ames," Lita said.  
"Come on," Amy said as she picked up the device. "Let's go home. She   
wondered where Serena and Darien had gotten to, so she asked.  
"Serena and Luna went home. Darien went to his apartment." As the pair   
walked out of the remains of the front door, two figures dropped from above   
them. It was Mars and Venus.  
"Where's the fight?" Mars asked in anticipation.  
"Sorry, but you two missed the fun," Artemis said, walking out of the   
building.  
"But we've got all this pent-up energy," Venus complained. "We can't just   
come from halfway across the city, only to find out that we've missed the   
battle!"  
"Well, sorry, Venus, but you're just going to have to use that energy to   
go home," Amy said. "You are, as we said earlier, late."  
"Well," Lita said, "If it's any consolation, the fight wasn't the same   
without you two. We really could have used your attacks."  
"All right, you three," Amy said seriously, "I need to report, and I'll do   
it at a meeting tomorrow after school at the temple. Lita, I need you to call   
Serena to tell her about it. And make sure not to tell her about it at six in   
the morning. I don't want to have to search her out because someone screwed   
up." The others knew when not to mess with Amy, and this was one of those   
times. She meant business. Mars leapt to a rooftop and went off towards the   
temple for some sleep. It was nearly eleven, and they had school the next day.  
"See you later," Venus said as she and Artemis leapt away towards their   
own home. That left Amy and Lita to walk home alone. They were closer to Amy's   
home, so they stopped there first. Amy went inside, saying a good-bye to Lita   
and opening the front door. Her coat was dirty, her face dirty, and her clothes   
underneath dirty. She hoped that her mother wouldn't be awake to see her in   
that condition. Unfortunately, she was.  
"My gosh, what happened to you, dear?" Mrs. Anderson asked.  
"I tripped and fell on my way back. I'm getting almost as clumsy as   
Serena. I hope that it's not contagious." She hoped that that would do for her   
mother, because she went to her room to change and go to sleep.  
  
End Part one  
  
Next: Part two: Andrew's Troubles  
  
Well, how did you like it? Tell me in an e-mail to jmh6187@uncwil.edu. 


	2. Andrew's Troubles

Hey again! If you're here, then you're in the right place for the second   
part of the "Shadows From the Past" series. I've got eight parts planned so far   
(and am going to stick to that plan if I can at all help it). I think that this   
is rated PG, and I'm sticking to my plans to make this series PG.  
But anyway. Here goes the speech. Sailor Moon is not mine. Only the few   
original characters in this story are mine. Sailor Moon and all the related   
characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi and many others who would be really   
P.O.'ed if I didn't talk about them in here. And now...  
  
Shadows From the Past  
by: M.H. Torringjan  
  
Part two: Andrew's Troubles  
  
It was the next morning that Lita awoke from a good night's sleep. She   
had had a nightmare, though, so she couldn't really call it a good night's   
sleep. It was the dream about the plane crash again. She got dressed and   
cooked herself some breakfast. She was ready for school with her lunch with   
about ten minutes to spare before she had to leave. She left anyway.  
The sun felt warm on her shoulders as she walked down the road towards the   
school. It was much better weather than the night before. There wasn't a cloud   
in sight. The weather forecaster had said that there was no rain in the   
forecast for another week.  
Lita decided to slow down a bit. She was almost to school and it was   
early. She always got to school early, but she didn't want to get there too   
early.  
She passed some stores on her way and looked into them. They contained   
some good sports equipment. It would be a good thing to remember, Mina's   
birthday wasn't very far away. She would have to buy Mina a new mouth guard or   
something.  
Lita walked on alone in the street. She wondered how the school-goers   
would react to the broken windows at the school. She wished that she had been   
able to stop the Droid faster, but it had been impossible. Well, at least no   
one had gotten hurt, she thought to herself. Amy hadn't told her or the other   
Scouts about Greg being taken yet.  
Lita got to school just as Amy was arriving from her home. They greeted   
and walked to their classes together, talking.  
"Did you call Rena yet?" Amy asked.  
"No, you told me not to call her this early. Remember? What was that   
attack about last night?" Lita asked.  
"The Negaverse is going after the Rainbow Crystal Carriers again. They   
caught us off guard last night, but it won't happen again. I was going to tell   
everyone about it at the meeting this afternoon. They've already got Greg, so   
we don't have any way of knowing where they're going to strike next."  
"How'll we be able to defend ourselves against this, then?"  
"I don't know. First of all, we'll have to have our transformation sticks   
and communicators with us at all times."  
"This coming from a person with experience." Amy frowned.  
"Last night was a mistake. We didn't even expect it. That's why they   
attacked when they did. They won't get any more of the carriers. We'll try to   
keep the carriers safe and save Greg. We should each guard one of the remaining   
carriers whenever we can."  
"I wonder who'll be next," Lita said as the first bell rang. "See you at   
lunch!" She walked into her room, which had new air-conditioning thanks to the   
structural damage done by the previous night's battle. She sat down at her desk   
and searched her book bag for her materials. She couldn't find her homework!   
She could tell that it was going to be a lovely day.  
  
At lunch, Lita went out and sat down in her customary spot to wait for the   
other two girls. Serena arrived before Amy, of course. Lita had gotten in   
trouble for not having her homework, and had received a detention. It was a   
good thing that she already knew what was going to happen at the meeting that   
afternoon. Amy sat down, and the two started talking.  
"Amy, what was the battle about last night?" Serena asked.  
"I'd rather wait to tell you about it until the meeting this afternoon,"   
Amy said.  
"What meeting?" Serena asked. Lita smiled nervously.  
"Sorry, Serena," Lita said. "I forgot to call you about it. We're   
meeting this afternoon at the temple. I can't be there, though."  
"Why not?" Amy asked inquisitively.  
"I've been having one of those days. First, I forgot my homework. Then,   
I was almost suspended for being blamed for a fight with some jerk. You'd think   
that these kids would know not to mess with me by this time."  
"You know, Lita," Amy said, "You've got to try and suppress these violent   
tendencies. They're more trouble than they're worth in our battles."  
"It's just the events of the days and the time that I got to bed last   
night. I just really need some time to myself."  
"Girl, what you need is some quality time with a shopping center," Serena   
said.  
"You're probably just saying that so you can have an excuse to go   
shopping," Lita said, smiling. "I think that after I've finished with my   
detention, I'll go home and go to bed early. Maybe watch some TV before that."  
"That's a good idea," Serena affirmed. "We'll be able to hold down the   
fort without you."  
"I hope so," Lita said.  
  
That afternoon, Lita stayed at the school house for the allotted hour and   
a half to pay her debt to society. Her punishment was to help clean the room of   
rubble and to clean the desks. She had no trouble with the desks, but she   
didn't like the rubble. Wasn't that the police or the firemen's job?  
At the temple, the meeting started without Lita. Amy started out with her   
reasons for calling the meeting.  
"Okay, guys, we've got a problem. The Negaverse is going after the   
Rainbow Crystal Carriers. You know, those people who had the fragments of the   
Imperium Silver Crystal embedded in them. Last night, they got Greg, and I'm   
sure that they're going to go after the others, considering that they got one   
out from under our noses. To prevent them from getting the others, we'll have   
to stake as constant a guard as is possible on the carriers. All of them."  
"And don't do what you did, eh?" Mina asked jokingly. Amy ignored the   
comment. "But anyway, I don't know who all these carriers are. I wasn't here   
then, remember?"  
"The rainbow crystals were carried by Greg, Hercules the cat, a priest,   
Raye's Grandpa, Game Machine Joe, Andrew's girlfriend, and that painter, Loni   
Lenai. Who wants to guard who?"  
"I'll take Hercules," Luna said. The cat had had a crush on Luna, but she   
wasn't in any way returning it.  
"I'll guard Grandpa," Raye said.  
"I'll take Loni," Serena said.  
"I'll find the priest and guard him," Mina said.  
"I bet that Lita'll want to guard Game Machine Joe," Amy said. "And I'll   
guard Joe with Lita."  
"What about me?" Artemis asked.  
"Why, you'll help me, of course!" Mina exclaimed.  
"Quick test," Amy said. "Does everyone have their transformation pens   
with them now?" Raye, Amy and Mina did. Serena made up the lame excuse that   
she had put it right beside her school stuff so that she wouldn't forget it, but   
she had been in such a rush that morning...  
"You must have forgotten your brain!" Raye teased. Artemis broke the two   
up before they could get at it. "She even flunks tests out of school," Raye   
muttered to herself.  
"I heard that," Serena said angrily, but she decided to drop it before the   
others got mad at her. The Scouts broke up to go to their guard duties with the   
Crystal Carriers.  
  
"They know about my plans," Rubeus thought as the girls broke up to go to   
their places. "I'll have to get a better Droid. Droid Stalker, come forth!" A   
Droid appeared from out of nowhere. It looked like a large tabby cat with a   
pouch at its side and a sheath at its side. Across its back, it had a quiver of   
arrows. It had a thin over shirt covering its chest and sturdy breeches on.  
"Your job is to capture this woman," he gestured towards the mirror, and   
its picture changed to show a woman with the occupation of biologist in Africa.   
She was visiting Tokyo to be with her boyfriend, who worked at the local arcade.   
As if that would matter any to the Droid. It just knew to catch its prey. It   
wondered how it would do its job without being noticed by someone. That was its   
one flaw.  
Luckily, it made up for that flaw with its durability. It could take just   
about anything and not get dented. It could never do a task without being   
noticed by the wrong person. It killed that wrong person, though. "Bring her   
back, and try not to be as idiotic as the last Droid was."  
As it was transporting out, it had the thought, "Why don't I try complete   
stealth? Come out from under the ground and take her. No one will even see me   
coming."  
  
Lita got home at about seven o'clock at night. Her communicator went off   
just as she went in her front door. It was Amy on the other end of the line.  
"Lita, you're home?" Amy asked.  
"Yes, what's up?" Lita responded.  
"We're guarding the Rainbow Carriers as we speak. If you want, you can   
join us. I volunteered you for guard duty on Game Machine Joe."  
"Good ol' Amy, never fails to find a way to cheer me up. I'll be right   
there. He's at the arcade?"  
"Yes, and so is Andrew's girlfriend. That kills two birds with one stone.   
We can keep an eye on both of them at once. I'll be waiting, unless they move.   
I'll call you if they do."  
"Thanks, Ames," Lita said, turning the communicator off. She went back   
out her door and down the road in the direction of the arcade. She   
arrived at the same time that Game Machine Joe left the arcade. She remembered   
him from the first adventure that she had been a Scout in. He had seemed to   
have been attracted to her, but they had drifted apart after a while. She was   
more interested in Andrew, anyway. Amy wasn't far behind the guy, sneaking so   
that he wouldn't notice her. Lita fell in with Amy, and decided that she would   
be able to handle sticking with Andrew.  
"Amy, I'm going to go guard Andrew and Reika," Lita said quietly.  
"Okay. They need someone on them." Amy continued on her way as Lita went   
back towards the arcade. She entered and saw Andrew standing by the door to the   
back room with Reika by his side. Reika was the one who she was supposed to be   
guarding, so she went over to talk to the two. She didn't like Amy's tactic of   
sneaking around.  
"Hey, Andrew!" she greeted as she approached. She didn't notice a small   
black spot on the ground appearing from out of nowhere. It got larger slowly.   
"How's business today?"  
"Same as usual for a school afternoon. I've been kept busy so far,   
especially by your friend, Game Machine Joe." The black spot had gotten large   
enough to surround both Andrew and Reika if it was to open. Lita looked down   
just in time to push the pair out of the way. A large, cat-like creature   
reached up through the black spot for Reika. It caught on to her leg and began   
pulling. The girl screamed helplessly as she was pulled into the hole. Lita   
began trying to help Andrew pull her back. After about a moment, she gave up   
and reached into her pocket for her communicator. As she turned it on, an arrow   
streaked through it. She had no way to communicate with the others. This just   
really wasn't her day. She couldn't transform, because someone would notice   
her.  
The creature had encased Reika in some sort of crystalline substance and   
was storing her in the hole. It went back for Lita and Andrew. Andrew wasn't   
leaving without his girlfriend, though. The Droid wasn't leaving without their   
heads on a platter.  
"You've got to get out of here, Andrew!" Lita called across the room.   
"Don't worry about Reika!"  
"But that thing's got her!" Andrew called back, rushing towards the   
monster. Lita gave up and grabbed her transformation pen. She would only use   
it in case of emergency. She turned toward the creature. It had its bow raised   
towards her. She jumped out of the way just before an arrow streaked through   
the air that she had just occupied.  
She rushed towards the creature and tried punching it. It didn't move or   
flinch. It took the hit, and Lita pulled back a bruised fist. The Droid kicked   
her in the gut and threw her back to Andrew. Lita was awake enough to use her   
transformation pen, and she did.  
"Jupiter Star Power!" she yelled out. Andrew stared in amazement as Lita   
changed into one of the world-famous Sailor Scouts.  
"Lita, you're a Sailor Scout?" Andrew stammered. He couldn't believe his   
own eyes.  
"Yeah," Lita said as she stood up, still reeling from the blow dealt to   
her by the Droid.  
"Who else is there?" he asked, completely oblivious to the impending doom   
just off to his left.  
"Serena, Amy, and Raye. There's also a girl named Mina, but I don't think   
you've met her," Lita said. She didn't know why she was telling him the whole   
story. Perhaps delirium brought on by her injuries.  
"I've seen her around here a couple of times. So that's why you've been   
hanging around them so much."  
"Now, if you could let me take care of this creep," Lita said as she went   
back into the fray. "Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" She let loose with a blast of   
energy directed at the Droid. The Droid was hit by the blast. A small   
explosion erupted from the site of impact. When the smoke had cleared, the   
Droid was standing in place without a dent in it. "Oh, man! That was a good   
one, too! Lemme try it again. Jupiter Thunderclap, Zap!" Another lightning   
bolt flew towards the Droid, which was laughing at Jupiter's futile attempts.   
The energy hit the Droid, with the same results.  
"You know, Lita, this doesn't look like it's working," Andrew said.  
"Call me Jupiter. Andrew, I need you to do something for me. Could you   
go find Game Machine Joe? Amy should be somewhere nearby. Tell her to get over   
here!" The Droid had taken out its sword and was preparing to attack the two   
again.  
"Yeah, sure!" Andrew said, rushing out of the arcade. He went down the   
street, trying to find Joe and Amy. About a block down, he came across Joe, who   
was looking in a store. He looked around the area, and found Amy hiding around   
the corner of the store.  
"Amy, Jupiter needs your help!" he said, rushing up to Amy.  
"What?!" she asked. Lita was in trouble? And how did Andrew know to talk   
to her?   
"Come on! There's a monster at the arcade! Jupiter's already fighting   
it, but nothing's working. You've got to help her!"  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Amy said innocently. She didn't   
know how Andrew had figured out that she was Mercury.  
"Now is not the time to play stupid, Amy! Lita told me everything. You   
have to come help!" The request was closer to an order. Amy couldn't figure   
out why Lita would tell him their secret, but she began to follow him, none the   
less.  
As she ran down the street, she took out her communicator to reach the   
others. She contacted them all and told them to get to the arcade as quickly as   
possible. She hoped that she wasn't too late herself.  
  
Another explosive arrow flew in Jupiter's direction. She jumped out of   
the way of the explosion. The creature rushed at her with its sword drawn. She   
jumped out of the blade's way, narrowly avoiding being cut to ribbons. She   
needed something to fight back with. She thought of using her ear rings. She   
reached up to her ears and removed the back of one. She threw it towards the   
creature. A thought entered her head in a flash.  
"Jupiter Earring, Streak!" The Earring began to glow in mid-flight. The   
creature blocked the projectile with its blade. When the earring hit the blade,   
though, the blade shattered into pieces.  
The creature didn't look too happy about this, and took its bow back out.   
It started shooting arrows in the direction that Jupiter was standing. The   
arrows missed Jupiter every time, but they didn't stop coming. The creature   
kept on shooting, and Jupiter kept on dodging. Jupiter began to tire after   
a few minutes of this, and was finally pinned in the shirt-sleeve. She jerked   
her sleeve loose and took a defensive stance.  
"You don't stand a chance, Sailor Brat. I've got a never-emptying   
quiver!" the Droid taunted.  
"Oh, yeah? I've got friends on the way right now, and they'll take care   
of you, along with me!" Jupiter shot back.  
"Wrong," said a voice from the door of the arcade. Amy had arrived with   
Andrew. "You've got friends here! Mercury Star Power!" Amy changed into her   
Sailor Scout and prepared to lend a hand to the tiring Jupiter.  
"Watch out, Mercury, this one's tough!" Jupiter exclaimed. "Andrew, get   
out of here!" No sooner had the words left Jupiter's mouth than the man had   
left the premises. "Ready, Mercury?"  
"Always am!"  
"All right! Jupiter Thuderclap, Zap!"  
"Mercury Ice Storm, Blast!"  
The two attacks combined in mid-air and formed a wave of electrified water   
heading towards the creature. The creature stood its ground as the attack flew   
into it (unfortunately for Andrew, the attacks had also wreaked havoc on his   
arcade and the equipment therein). The Droid eventually lost its balance and   
was driven back to the wall. It took the damage for as long as the two Scouts   
could dish it out. When they finally stopped, the Droid lay still at the wall.   
The two Scouts walked over to the battered Droid to see if it was dead.  
Suddenly, the Droid roared back into action and grabbed the Scouts as they   
stood in amazement at the durability of this creature. Within a moment, the   
creature had cocooned the two in the same type of cylinder that Reika was in.   
Just as it teleported the cylinders out, the other three Scouts arrived, itching   
for a fight. As the creature advanced, the Scouts jumped into action, and the   
two cats prepared to help if they were needed.  
"Mars Celestial Fire, Surround!" Mars yelled. An inferno surrounded the   
Droid, which just stood and took it. When the fire had died down, it shot an   
explosive arrow in Mars's direction. It missed its target, but the explosion   
sent Mars flying into a nearby game machine. The resulting thud sent chills up   
Sailors Moon's and Venus's spines. Venus went over to check the still form of   
Mars while Moon held the Droid at bay. Mars was only unconscious, thank   
goodness. Venus rejoined the battle and contributed her powers to it.  
"I wish that Mercury was here right about now," Moon said. "We could   
really use that computer of hers. What's this guy weak against, anyway?"  
"Venus Love Chain, Encircle!" Venus called as her attack flew through the   
air. The chain bound the Droid's arms to its sides and its legs together. It   
fell to the ground, screaming and cursing the Scouts. "That'll give us some   
time to think," Venus said as she concentrated on the chain.  
"I think that our best bet would be to use some combined attacks," Luna   
said.  
"We can do combos?" Moon asked, intrigued.  
"Yes, and I think that you'll like them. They're incredibly powerful and   
very energy-draining, so you should use them sparingly. You two have the Moon   
Shock Wave."  
Venus dropped the chain and gathered what was left of her energy.   
"Moon..." Moon began.  
"Shock..." Venus continued.  
"Wave!" the two said together. A bright flash emitted from the two as the   
beams left their hands. The shots combined to form a great wall in front of the   
creature. As the wave hit the creature, it crumbled to dust. As the dust   
gathered on the floor, Moon and Venus cried out at the same time, "Moon dusted!"  
  
"BLAST! They destroyed one of my best yet! That cat is gonna pay dearly,   
after the Scouts. At least I got my trophy," Rubeus said, glancing at the   
crystal cylinders where the three beings laid, unconscious. "I wonder what I'll   
do with these Scouts. Maybe I'll hold them ransom for the rest of the Crystal   
Carriers. I'll have to ask Wiseman what he wants me to do." He mentally   
floated the three cylinders over to where the other Carrier was, and emptied   
them in with him. When the contents were gone, the cylinders disappeared into   
thin air. The one named Greg rushed over to Sailor Mercury to check if she was   
all right. Humans and their frivolous emotions, Rubeus thought. I just don't   
get it.  
  
"Man, Luna, you're right!" Serena said as she and Mina were on their way   
home from dropping Raye off. "Those duel attacks do take it out of you. I   
could just sleep 'till next week after that one fight.." Serena was sure that   
Raye would have made some sort of snide remark at that statement.  
"Yeah, Rena," Mina agreed. "I hope that the Negaverse doesn't try   
anything else today, or we're sunk! I wonder what will happen to Lita and Amy.   
I hope that they'll be all right."  
"Don't worry about them," Artemis said. "They can take care of themselves   
against the Negaverse. I just hope that they can do it until we can find a way   
to save them."  
"Yes, that part might take a while," Luna said. "I'll put every moment of   
my time into that project."  
"Umm... Luna, are you forgetting the part about the Crystal Carriers? The   
Negaverse is still after them, so we've still got to protect them," Mina said.   
By that time, they had reached Serena's house. Serena and Luna turned to enter   
and were met at the door by Rini being chased by Sammy. Serena grabbed Sammy by   
the scruff of the neck and stopped him dead in his tracks. In his hand, he held   
one of his frog friends that he had caught while playing outside.  
"Visiting with your real parents, I see," Serena said to the young boy.  
"More like showing it around its real home," Sammy said as he struggled to   
get out of Serena's iron grip.  
"And what do you mean by that?" Suddenly, in a flash of comprehension,   
Serena understood what Sammy had meant. She let the boy go after making him   
drop the frog, and she rushed to her room. She opened the door to see that what   
she had feared had happened. Sammy had put frogs on Serena's bed top and had   
left them there for her to discover.  
"SAMMY!!! YOU LITTLE CREEP! WHEN I GET YOU, YOU'RE GONNA WISH THAT YOU'D   
NEVER BEEN BORN!" Serena yelled, rushing out of her room to find the miscreant.   
Luna just sat there staring at the frogs. She didn't mind them as such, it's   
just that they stank the room up. Serena eventually caught up with Sammy   
and made him clean her room, along with the bedspread. She wasn't able to get   
to sleep until about eleven that night because she thought that kept on feeling   
things sliver against her legs.  
  
End of Part Two  
  
Coming next: Part Three: Allies  
  
Well, that's it for this part. How'd you like it? E-mail me at:   
jmh6187@uncwil.edu. I prefer good notes, but flames will be accepted. Any   
creative criticism will be accepted and pondered over until I can think of a way   
to write myself out of my own writing. 


	3. Allies

Hi, everyone! The characters in this story are the property of Naoko   
Takeuchi. Well, the ones that aren't original (yes, there will be some in this   
story). I don't claim to own them, except for the original ones, of course, and   
I never will in these stories.  
  
Shadows From the Past  
by: M. H. Torringjan  
  
Part three: Allies  
  
Serena awoke the next morning to the sun shining in through her window.   
Her alarm clock was going off, and she was late AGAIN! She put on her uniform   
at lightning speed and rushed out the door in record time. On the way to   
school, she met Andrew, supposedly by accident.  
"Hey, Andrew!" Serena said. He greeted in return and fell in step with   
her. He had to run to keep up with her.  
"Serena, how long have you been Sailor Moon?" Andrew asked.  
"Not so loud!" Serena reprimanded. "Since that Sailor V game came out at   
the arcade. I had spent the day wishing that I could be like Sailor V, and I   
got it."  
"Talk about wild coincidences," Andrew said.  
"You're telling me," Serena responded. "So, what are you gonna' do since   
your arcade got trashed?" she continued, breaking that conversation in half.  
"I'm thinking that I might use the money that I saved up from my earnings   
and go back to school," Andrew said.  
"Go back to school after getting out of it?" Serena asked in a tone that   
suggested that she thought that he was doing something sacrilegious. "You must   
be crazy! After college, I'm out of the loop!"  
"So what happened to Amy and Lita after the battle last night?" Andrew   
asked cautiously, not knowing if he wanted to know the answer.  
"They got taken along with your girlfriend."  
"I hope that they'll be okay. They almost got themselves killed just to   
protect my place of business."  
"No, actually, it was to try and rescue your girlfriend."  
"Oh! I say that's just as noble a cause. Well, here's your school. I'll   
see you later!"  
The final bell rang just as Serena sat down at her desk. Molly sat off to   
Serena's right, and she had noticed Amy's absence.  
"Serena, where's Amy? She never misses a school day," Molly asked.  
"She called me this morning," Serena said. "Said she was feeling a bit   
under the weather, so she decided to stay home today. She asked me to take her   
all her assignments." The class quieted down as Miss Haruna entered the room.   
She began to call out the role call. When she got to Amy's name, there was   
silence that was only broken when Mrs. Haruna commented on how strange it was to   
have Amy absent.  
Ms. Haruna finished the role call, then made an announcement. "Today,   
everyone, we have a new student in the class. His name is Michael Cross. He's   
originally from New York city in the US." As he stood in front of the class,   
before his name was given, Serena wasn't sure if he was a guy with the long,   
brown hair that he wore. Well, long for a guy. He didn't have a uniform yet,   
so he wore a tee-shirt with a designer symbol on it and jeans. He carried   
around a pile of books that appeared to be science fiction. He sat down in the   
back of the class in the only available place, which just happened to be Amy's   
place behind Serena. Ms. Haruna noted that they would have to get a desk for   
him later on.  
When Ms. Haruna started teaching the math lesson for the day, Serena heard   
pages slowly flipping behind her. She turned to see Michael reading in his own   
little books. Unfortunately, Ms. Haruna noticed, too.  
"Michael, please stop reading and pay attention," Ms. Haruna said. The   
minute that she turned around again, though, Michael was flipping pages again,   
softer this time. Ms. Haruna heard again and turned again. "Michael, I told   
you to stop reading. You need to know this subject."  
"I'm just wondering why I have to pay attention to stuff that I already   
know," Michael said in faltering Japanese. "The administrators stuck me in here   
because I was the right age, and won't move me up. I was past this where I came   
from."  
"All right, Mister Math-whiz, if you know this so well, then why don't   
you show me? Solve this problem and show me the answer by the end of the   
lesson." Ms. Haruna put a problem on the board for Michael to copy.  
"End of the lesson?" Michael said in disbelief.  
"Not enough time?" Haruna asked sarcastically.  
"Too much time," Michael corrected smugly. "Time me." Michael put pencil   
to paper and started working. Within five minutes, he had the answer and was   
showing the rest of the class how to work it.  
"Man, Amy would love this guy," Serena said quietly to Molly.  
"That's very impressive, Mister Cross," Ms. Haruna said. "But I still   
expect you to pay attention in class."  
"That's about what I expected. I was treated the same way in my old   
class. They wanted me to pay attention when the class that I was in was too   
easy for me, but required for the other classes that I wanted to take. I guess   
that I should be happy that I'm probably the smartest person in class, but   
I'm just not feeling it."  
Before he took his seat, Ms. Haruna told him to wait outside for her.   
After setting the class to the next assignment, she went out to give him the   
usual lecture. By the time that it came to lunch, Serena was starving from the   
exertions that her brain had gone to try and understand everything that had been   
taught.  
Serena went out to her usual place to eat, and noticed Michael sitting off   
to one side alone, looking like he was talking to himself. Serena walked over   
to him to see what he was doing. He seemed strange enough already, what with   
his mouthing off to Ms. Haruna. She arrived and saw him talking to a dog.  
"Hello, Michael," Serena said. "Can I sit down?"  
"No law against it," Michael said. He didn't seem to have any food with   
him.  
"Where's your food?" Serena asked.  
"Is that why you came over here, to ask where my food is?" Michael asked.  
"Gosh, you don't have to be so mean to me! I was just wondering!" Serena   
said defensively.  
"You're right. Sorry, it's just that I've been so bitter since I moved   
here. We left all of my friends behind, and I don't know anyone here except for   
my dog and my family. I didn't want this. My life was just perfect where I   
came from, now I've got to start over again."  
"Well, look at it this way. You don't really have anything to do all day   
long. And at least there haven't been any rumors around about you yet.   
Usually, they've been going for hours by now. You should hear some of the ones   
that they've started about my friend, Lita."  
"Your friend, who?" Michael asked.  
"Never mind. I'll introduce you to her when she's here."  
"Hey, Serena!" a voice yelled from behind the pair. It was Melvin, who   
had snuck up behind Serena, having noticed her talking to Michael. "Hello,   
Michael."  
"Hey, Melvin," Michael said.  
"You know this guy?" Serena said to Melvin.  
"Yeah, he and I are good friends. Well, at least we know each other. I   
talked to him before class began. He's really cool! He knows pretty much   
anything you can ask him."  
"That's your idea of cool?" Serena asked under her breath. Melvin didn't   
hear as he had noticed the dog sitting off to one side.   
"Hello, and who's this?" he asked.  
"He's my dog, Rigel. Watch out, he has been known to bite strangers."   
Serena reached over and patted Rigel on the head. Michael watched in amazement   
as Rigel took the coddling he was given. "He hasn't acted that way before. Oh,   
well." Just then, the bell went off and everyone went inside. Before Michael   
could get inside, though, Ms. Haruna stopped him to take his books from him.   
She would give them back to him at the end of class.  
The next subject was history, and Serena thought that she heard Michael   
mutter something about the Hapsburg Empire and Richelieu before the lesson had   
even started.  
  
"The Wiseman says that I should brainwash these two Scouts and make them   
work for me," Rubeus said as he mentally floated the two incapacitated Scouts to   
the brain-washer. He deposited them in and turned it on. It would take only a   
couple of hours to work its magic on the prisoners.  
Wiseman had come up with a brilliant plan, but he predicted that bad   
things were to come. For which side, he hadn't said. Rubeus assumed that it   
was for the Scouts, because who would hurt their own friends, especially of the   
Sailor Scouts? He turned to the crowd of awaiting Droids and called one up.  
"Droid Punker Moto, come forth!"  
A Droid approached Rubeus as he stared into the Brain-washer. The Droid   
looked like a bizarre combination of punk and motorcycle. Rubeus was almost   
disgusted with the sight that he himself had created. The hair was in a razor   
mohawk, colored green in front, purple in the back. The jacket she wore was   
black leather. It bore patches promoting anything that it could get away with.   
The tattoos on the Droid were of skulls and crossbones, snakes, and dragons.   
The bike had many added features on it, including a nitro-booster, a pair of   
wheels that could put out razors on them, and a handle bar with a halogen   
headlight on it.  
"I want you to go after the one named Game Machine Joe," Rubeus said.  
"Right, boss, there'll be nothing left of him but road-kill!" Punker Moto   
said in an excited tone.  
"No! Do not kill him! Wiseman wants them all together, alive." Punker   
Moto teleported out after Rubeus finished his statement. "I hope that she does   
a better job than the last two."  
  
At the end of the school day, Serena exited the building, then waited for   
Michael to do the same. Michael came out about five minutes later, then met his   
dog at the door. He didn't have any homework, as Serena could tell by the   
shuffling of books at his desk before the end of class. Serena met him as he   
was coming down the stairs.  
"Michael!" Serena greeted.  
"Hi, Serena. What are you waiting for? If I were you, I wouldn't have   
stayed here for all the tea in China."  
"I remembered what you said earlier about not having many friends here, so   
I decided to help you out with that. I want you to meet some of my friends."  
"What? I figured that you'd be asking for my help on the homework for   
tonight," Michael said sarcastically. "But really, I'd really like to meet your   
friends. That might help to salvage this day. Where are they?"  
"Wait just a minute." Serena dropped behind Michael and took out her   
communicator to call the others quietly. She arranged to meet the other two   
Scouts at the Hikawa Shrine. "We'll meet them at the Hikawa Shrine." She and   
Michael made their way to the Temple, where they met with Mina and Raye.  
"This is why you call us here?" Raye asked after they had been introduced   
to Michael.  
"Well, this guy tells me that he's having trouble meeting friends, so I   
figure that I'll help him," Serena explained.  
"But we thought that you had a real problem or something," Raye continued.   
"You shouldn't have called us here for nothing! We're supposed to be doing   
something important, remember? Or did you forget with the limited space in that   
empty cave called a head?"  
"Hey! I'm not stupid! I've got proof! Michael, didn't I do good in   
class today?"  
"Yes, but you could have done better," Michael answered from where he   
stood by the door.  
"See? I'm not as dumb as you think!"  
"You don't know how dumb I think you are," Raye pointed out.  
"Hey! Stop being mean!"  
Just then, Serena and Raye looked out at the street and saw Game Machine   
Joe run past the entrance.  
"What's with him?" Raye asked.  
"Maybe he's taken up jogging because the arcade was demolished," Serena   
suggested. Suddenly, the girls heard a sound like a motorcycle coming down the   
side walk. A blur went past the gate, and the four of them heard Joe scream.   
Serena, Mina, Artemis, and Raye rushed out onto the road. At the corner, they   
saw the thing that had rushed past the gate grab Joe and teleport him away.   
When the girls looked back to see where Michael had gone, he had disappeared.  
"He looks like my old boyfriend," Mina said. Serena and Raye sighed at   
Mina saying Lita's catch phrase. They made a quick sweep to see that the road   
was clear, and they transformed.  
"Moon Crystal Power!"  
"Mars Star Power!"  
"Venus Star Power!"  
The three Sailor Scouts were soon joined by a very angry Droid, raring for   
an attack. It got down on its wheels and prepared to accelerate towards its   
targets. Just as it began to speed up to ramming speed, a black figure jumped   
from the wall surrounding the Temple above and landed on the head of the Droid.   
It was Luna, doing something to contribute. The Droid lost its vision and   
swerved at the last minute. It hit a wall and fell onto its side. When it   
stood up on its hind legs, it saw the attack coming from Venus.  
"Venus Love Chain, Encircle!" Venus yelled out. A chain was tied around   
the Droid's wheels and feet. It fell to the ground, helpless. Well, almost   
helpless. From its hands, it shot spikes, which pinned the three girls to the   
wall. Venus lost her concentration and dropped the chain. The Droid got up and   
bent over. Its mohawk started to spin, becoming a deadly blade. It moved   
closer to the Scouts, and was about to cut the Scouts when a razor-sharp card   
smacked it in the face. The blade stopped spinning, and the Droid looked up.  
"It might be a good idea to leave those girls alone," a mystery figure   
said from the tree. The figure jumped from the tree and landed on his feet   
about five feet from the Droid. He was wearing a school-like uniform colored   
purple with a purple hat on.  
"Who's this guy?" Mars asked.  
"It sure isn't Tuxedo Mask," Moon replied.  
"He's another Sailor Scout," Luna answered. A dog jumped down from the   
tree after its master. The dog seemed vaguely familiar, Sailor Moon thought.   
She had seen it earlier that day.  
"Sailor Europa," the dog answered.  
"Rigel! I never thought that I'd see you again," Luna said. Serena   
thought that she heard Luna mutter something under her breath about keeping it   
that way.  
"Rigel, how'd you get here?" Artemis asked. He didn't seem too happy   
about the dog's presence.  
"It's a long story. I'll tell you later, like when we're not trying   
to kill or be killed by a creature," Rigel answered.  
"How'd you get into that tree, at least?" Luna asked.  
"Europa dragged me up there. He wanted a dramatic entrance," Rigel said   
with disgust. "That's going to get someone hurt one of these days. I'm just   
glad that we were where we were when we were, or else you three might have been   
feeding some Nega-scum right about now."  
"That's enough, Rigel," Europa said. "Let's teach this guy the power of   
the Sailor Scouts!"  
"Just remember, this is your first real battle in about a thousand years,   
so don't get carried away."  
"Okay, Europa Earth, Drop!" A large boulder fell from the sky, pinning   
the Droid, screaming and kicking, to the concrete. "That was easy enough. Can   
we go home now?"  
"Just like you always are. How many times do I have to tell you?   
Impatience breeds messiness. Don't get messy!" Rigel said to his prodigy.  
"All right, all right!" Europa said, turning to free the Scouts. As he   
freed Venus, he paused. "This feels so familiar. Any explanations, Rigel?"  
"Yes, but they don't matter right now. I'll explain it to everyone   
later." Luna and Artemis just sat off to one side, watching this whole scene   
unfold before their eyes. Memories were flooding back by the moment.  
"Man, can you say, 'authority figure'?" Sailor Moon said, in awe of the   
the clear show of who was the master of that relationship. She couldn't decide   
if Sailor Europa was Michael in real life. There couldn't be that many people   
with dogs named Rigel, so far as Moon knew.  
"I'll say!" Mars agreed. "Who wants to take the Droid out?"  
"I will," Serena said, taking her Moon Scepter out of her subspace pocket.   
"Moon Scepter, Elimination!" A blast, with the energy equal to that of   
exploding jet fuel focused into a small area, hit the Droid and disintegrated it   
within a few seconds. The Droid disappeared, leaving only his mo-hawk and the   
pile of earth that had been dropped on him. Europa waved his hands, and the   
earth disappeared as abruptly as the Droid had. "Moon Dusted!"  
  
"I'm getting majorly ticked at this brat!" Rubeus raged as he went to turn   
the brain-washer off. The two Scouts would be about finished in there by that   
time. Rubeus had estimated that the two would take a shorter time than they   
had, assuming that they didn't have much of a brain to wash. "Well, my secret   
weapons are almost finished, so I'll soon have my revenge! I don't think that   
this new Scout will cause me any trouble."  
Rubeus opened the door to the Brain washer, and the two Scouts stepped   
out. Their outfits had changed, and wherever there had been white, there was   
black. The crystals in their tiaras had changed to a swirl of their original   
colors and black. Their hairdos were a bit mussed from the brain-washing   
techniques used on them, but looked a bit more out of place than usual.  
"We are ready for our orders, Master Rubeus," Mercury said in a sinister   
tone.  
"I have no orders as of yet," Rubeus said, a smile crossing his lips.   
"Await my orders in the prisoner room." The girls left, and Rubeus stood in   
place for a couple of moments, pondering the endless possibilities of the recent   
turns of events.  
  
"Thanks for that save there, Europa," Moon said. Mars looked around to   
see if anyone would see them transform back to their original forms.  
"No problem, guys!" Europa said. He was glancing around as well. He   
was glad to have his long pants on the cold day, but he wanted to get out of   
them as quickly as was possible. Moon was the first one to revert to her normal   
form. Europa stared as he saw Serena emerge from the flash of light that   
accompanied reverting. Mars was next, and Europa saw Raye standing there after   
a few moments. Venus was the final one, and Europa gaped as Mina stood in her   
place a few seconds later.  
"Well, Mister Mystery," Mina said impatiently, "We're waiting." A flash   
of light, and they saw Michael step forth to meet them.  
"I knew it!" Serena exclaimed. "There can't be that many dogs named Rigel   
in this city! Why didn't you tell me?"  
"Because I didn't know that you were Sailor Moon," Michael said. "And   
because we didn't know who we could trust with this secret. In my old home, I   
only found one person, and that was my ex-girlfriend."  
"We need to talk, everyone," Rigel said, leading the way back into the   
courtyard of the Temple. They went off to one side, and Rigel began to tell   
them the history of Europa. "During the Silver Millennium, the planets and   
their moons were all involved with the Moon Kingdom somehow. One moon, in   
particular, was an exclusive example of them. This was Europa, moon of Jupiter.   
Europa was autonomous, and the leader had no responsibility to the other planets   
what so ever. The leaders liked it this way until Prince Michael got control.   
He formed an alliance with the Moon. Everyone in the Solar System had different   
expectations of what Europa would be like. Some thought that he would be a just   
ruler, maybe better than Serenity herself. Others thought that he would be   
worse than Beryl.  
"People liked, for some odd reason, to speculate upon which Princess he   
would get together with. Most expected him to fall for the Princess of Jupiter,   
but he secretly held resignations about her. He thought that she was too tom-  
boyish to love." Serena got a giggle out of that. It did seem like a good   
description of Lita at times.  
Rigel continued, "Europa was a very ardent lover of the arts, and one day,   
while at a poetry reading on the Moon, he met the Princess of Venus. He shocked   
the populous when he started showing up at all functions with Venus. Rumors   
started quickly that the guardian Artemis began to become jealous at the   
attention that Venus was showing to Europa."  
"None of which were true," Artemis said defensively.  
Rigel paused to make sure that there were no other running commentaries.   
"Europa wasn't only a prince, but he was also a member of the group of fighters   
known as Sailor Scouts. He got the other Scouts out of many jams from time to   
time. He and Venus quickly evolved from casual friends to lovers because of the   
times that he had saved her in particular."  
"Sound familiar?" Raye asked Serena.  
"What?" Serena said.  
Rigel seemed to be getting frustrated with the number of times that he was   
being interrupted. "When it came time for the final battle with the Negaverse,   
he was called away, as many of the other warriors had been, to fight the   
Negaverse on the Terran front. Of course, he was put in the front of the   
battle, and, being one of the most envied generals for the Moon Kingdom, he fell   
to betrayal. Serenity could not stand to have one of her finest warriors and   
allies destroyed, so she sent him into the future. To prevent the grief of   
Venus, she never told her of what had happened to her love. That's how we got   
here. I was sent with him to be his guardian. I was born to one of his dogs,   
and it was fate for me to be with him.  
"On his thirteenth birthday, I introduced him to his powers and told him   
most of the story that I have just told you all. I never expected to find you   
here, though. Or this soon. The instant that we arrived here off of the plane,   
I could sense the unmistakable force of the other Scouts. That was about a week   
ago. I decided that I would give him a day or two to rest before I made him get   
suited back up. He is well trained in his powers and knows the powers of all   
the others. He has knowledge of the enemies which we fight against today, or at   
least, what I know about them."  
Rigel paused to let all this sink in to the others. Michael was getting   
restless, as usual, like he always did when forced to listen to things that he   
knew. He had expressed that earlier that day, and wasn't very happy with   
himself.  
Rigel turned to the others and paid special attention to the cats. He had   
been trying for all his life to get used to not chasing cats, expecting this day   
to come. It was hard to suppress his natural instincts, though. He was able to   
hold himself back for fifteen minutes tops.  
Luna and Artemis jumped into Serena's and Mina's laps to put some height   
between them and Rigel. She and Artemis had hated that dog so much back during   
the Silver Millennium. He had neglected to mention that the dog had never once   
given the cats a moment of peace. He had always been chasing them up trees or   
scaring them out of their wits. The cats and that dog were complete enemies.   
Of course, things did seem to have changed, momentarily at the least.  
"So, what you're saying is that I used to love this girl?" Michael asked,   
moving closer to Mina. "I can get used to that."  
"Well, if that's it," Serena said, "I've got to get home, or Mom'll blow   
a gasket at my being late." Luna could tell that something was wrong with   
Serena. She stood up to follow Serena out the front gate. As they got to   
Serena's house, Serena began to cry.  
"Serena, what's wrong?" Rini asked from where she had been hiding in the   
bushes.  
"What are you doing back there?" Serena asked, trying to hide the fact   
that she had been crying.  
"Hiding from Sammy. He's being a jerk again. You're lucky. He hasn't   
gone after you yet, although I guess that he's probably planning something   
unspeakably evil at this moment." Serena wondered where Rini had figured out   
how to talk like that. "Now what's wrong?"  
"I don't think you'd understand," Serena said, rushing inside to her room   
with Luna in close tow. Serena closed her door and stayed in her room for the   
rest of the night. Luna wondered what was wrong with her this time.  
"Rena, what's wrong? You're not your regular perky old self tonight,"   
Luna said.  
"It's nothing, it's just that Mina has Michael, Amy has Greg, and Raye has   
Chad. I'm the only one who's not happy anymore, and it's all because of   
Darien."  
"Now, Rena," Luna began. "I'm sure that Darien had some good reason for   
what he did. He'll make it clear what he wants when he wants to. Trust me here   
on this one. You should be happy, because you have a guy who'll always love   
you. He already has for two lifetimes. Nothing will make him leave you short   
of impending disaster, which you two would fight together."  
"You know what, Luna? You're right! I feel much better now!" Serena said   
unenthusiastically. Luna could tell that she was lying. "I just wish he would   
just tell me what was wrong."  
"Good, because it's time for bed!" Luna said.  
"What?" Serena asked, thoroughly confused. "It's only nine o'clock!"  
"Well, hearing how that dog acted around his Sailor Scout got me to   
thinking. If I treat you more like he treats Michael, then maybe you'll   
improve!"  
"You've got some sort of rivalry going on with this dog, don't you?"   
Serena asked. Luna looked away nervously.  
"He didn't tell you, but the cat guardians and he were enemies of each   
other. He always rubbed it in the faces of me and Artemis that his Scout had   
saved our Scouts so many times. He wouldn't only do that, but he would chase us   
around the place, just like a normal dog would to normal cats."  
"That's too bad, but I don't think that you should try to match him if   
we've gotten this far with you doing it the way that you have."  
"But, my, how you have cut it close some number of times."  
"Well, if you insist, I'll go to sleep." Serena changed into her pajamas   
and turned the lights off. "Good night, Luna."  
"Good night, Serena."  
  
End of part three  
  
Next part: The Cold Shoulder  
  
Well, How'd you like it? How about your opinion. E-mail-   
jmh6187@uncwil.edu. I'll take comments about characters, flames, and most   
anything else. See you next time! 


	4. the Cold Shoulder

I don't own these characters (except for the ones that I create). Naoko   
Takeuchi does, along with many large mega-million dollar companies. If you see   
something in my stories that you like, please ask before you use it.  
Hi! I'd just like to thank the guys who have test read everything that   
I've written, including this. Thanks, guys! But anyway...  
  
Shadows From the Past  
by: M. H. Torringjan  
  
Part Four: The Cold Shoulder  
  
Mina awoke early the next morning to a sleeping Artemis at the foot of her   
bed. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She petted the tired cat, who yawned and   
stood up.  
Mina was in her kitchen, waiting for breakfast, in five minutes. She   
didn't have much time, because she had slept a little bit late. She couldn't   
wait long enough, so she just grabbed a toaster pastry to eat on her way to   
school. On her way to school, she came across Andrew, who was going for a   
morning stroll.  
"I want to know if we can trust you with our secret," Mina said to him   
after they had talked for a little while.  
"Hey, I've kept it this long. I'm solid! I would have no reason to tell   
anyone." Mina was holding off on telling him about Michael until they were   
positive that they could trust him with everything.   
"Well, I've got to get on to school now, so if you would excuse me..."   
Mina said.  
"Well, don't let me keep you. I'm going to some classes that I've signed   
up for myself."  
"Really? What are you going to study?"  
"Computers. I'm hoping that my parents will give me a job at their   
computer shop. They might not, considering how I handled their arcade."  
"Now, that wasn't your fault."  
"That's what I said, but they wouldn't believe me. I told them that a   
monster and the Sailor Scouts had done it."  
"Well, we could go and show them..." Mina began.  
"No, thanks. I don't want them angrier at me than they already are."  
"Why would they be angry at you?"  
"Because they'd think that it was my fault, too." A silence ensued which   
lasted for a little while. Mina glanced at Andrew from time to time, watching   
his expressions.  
"Well, I've got to be going on to school now," Mina said quickly.  
"As do I," Andrew said. "Later!" They parted their ways and headed off   
in the directions of their destinations.  
  
Halfway across town, Serena was just waking up. Amazingly enough, her   
alarm clock wasn't going off. She attributed that to going to sleep so early.   
Luna was awake as well, laying on the floor beside Serena's bed. When Serena   
put her foot out of the bed, and it accidentally landed on Luna's tail, causing   
Luna to yell out in pain.  
"Oh, Luna, I'm sorry! I didn't see you down there! Are you all right?"   
Serena asked concernedly.  
"I'm fine, just my pride that's bruised a bit," Luna said.  
"Honey, who're you talking to?" Mrs. Tsukino said, sticking her head in   
the door.  
"I was just apologizing to Luna for stepping on her tail," Serena said   
nervously.  
"I thought I heard someone else, though..."  
"You're dreaming," Serena said. "You must have been hearing things. So,   
what's for breakfast this morning?"  
"You're actually planning on coming down for breakfast this morning?"   
Serena's mother asked, slightly amazed.  
"I went to bed early last night, so I'm going to get up early this   
morning. Unless, of course, you have anything against that..."  
"No, of course not. You come on down. We're having waffles."  
"Oh, boy!" Serena jumped out of bed and got dressed for school as soon as   
her mother had left. She went downstairs and was actually able to sit down at   
the table for once. She had about fifteen minutes before she had to leave and   
get to school on time.  
After she ate, she left the house at a leisurely pace, a rare occurrence   
for her. She arrived with five minutes to socialize before class. The first   
person who she talked to was Michael.  
"Hey, Michael! You seen Mina this morning?" Serena asked playfully.  
"No. I don't see her on my way to school. I wish that I did, though.   
Now, Rigel wanted me to talk to you about something Scout related."  
"Not so loud! Do you want the other kids to find out about that?" Serena   
scolded quietly. "Now, what did he want?"  
"He wanted to find out if you could get me a communicator."  
"Sorry, but you're talking to the wrong person. The communicators are   
Luna's and Amy's department. They're too complicated for me."  
"Okay, then how about this? Can we arrange a meeting this afternoon after   
school? I need to find out some things about our current mission."  
"Okay. I'll arrange that with the others at lunch." Just then, the bell   
rang, and they were forced to sit down. Michael took the seat behind Serena   
again, because Amy wasn't there still. Serena was dreading the quiz that day in   
math. Luckily, the quiz was the first thing that they took. Serena was able to   
leech a couple of answers off of Michael before Ms. Haruna began to get   
suspicious. She finished the test last in the class, and she thought that even   
Amy would have beat her out if she had been there.  
  
Rubeus looked through his mirror with attention to his next target. It   
was the cat, Hercules. It should be easy enough to take the cat. It was fat   
and couldn't run very fast. As an added bonus, the Scouts would be in school.   
They wouldn't be able to stop any attempt to kidnap this Carrier. He summoned   
the Scouts to him.  
"Yes, my master?" Jupiter asked.  
"We await your command," Mercury said.  
"I want you to go and capture the carrier named Hercules. It's an easy   
enough task, so don't botch it up."  
"We won't," Jupiter said, eager to please her master. Mercury seemed   
equally as loyal, but inside, a battle raged between two opposing forces. One   
of pure evil, one of good. They fought for supremacy, and the evil side was   
winning at the moment. Mercury had a headache from the things going on in her   
head.  
As the two walked past the prisoner room, a voice called out for Mercury.   
It was Greg, who had been misbehaving all day long and all last night.  
"Mercury! You have to listen to me! You're not evil! You just don't   
know it yet! He messed with your mind, and you're evil, but it shouldn't be   
that way. You need to fight the evil!" He received a shock from Jupiter, who   
was passing the room, and slumped down on the side of the chamber, unconscious.  
"That takes care of that little nuisance," Jupiter said as Mercury   
followed her out. "Now, let's get on with our mission."  
"I want to know why we have to take orders from Rubeus," Mercury   
complained. "We're the ones who are doing the work around here. It's not like   
he gets off his lazy duff and gives us any help."  
"Mercury, we haven't done anything for him yet."  
"It's just the principle of the thing. We had better get some sort of   
reward for our services, or I'll do something that I may regret to Rubeus."  
"Don't worry. I know for a fact that if we get the rest of the Carriers,   
then we'll be set for a month or so." The Scouts got to the teleporting room,   
where they would have to teleport out. After all, they couldn't teleport by   
themselves.  
  
Luna woke up again about an hour after Serena had left. "Well, it's back   
to the good old guard duty, I guess," she thought to herself as she ate some   
food. She was able to slip out of the house unnoticed, as usual. It was just   
getting too easy to get out these days. She wondered where Hercules would be at   
that moment.  
She wasn't watching where she was walking, and she wandered into the bad   
part of town for her. As she looked around to gather her bearings, she noticed   
the fences lined with dark forms. She began to panic, and she ran down the   
street in no general direction. She just wanted to get out of there. She   
wanted to be home, of course, but she had to find Hercules. The best way to get   
him to show himself was probably to get in trouble with those other cats. She   
stopped running, and let the other cats gather behind her.  
Two cats stepped forward, one a Tabby, one a small Siamese, and they began   
to speak to her. She hoped that her cat-ese was good enough to pass.  
"Meyow, merowww... mow-ow thrumm meow," the Siamese said. Luna translated   
it as, "You are welcome in our heap of toenail clippings and yogurt."  
"Meow, Mew, Marow," Luna replied. She hoped that she had just said,   
"Thank you, I'll try to behave." By the response that she got, she didn't think   
that she had just said what she had meant. The cats started meowing at her all   
at the same instant, and they began advancing on her.  
Just as the first wave was about to hit and roll over her, a fish's   
skeleton "thunked" into the ground in front of the lead cat. Luna breathed a   
sigh of relief as she looked up and saw her savior on a nearby fence. Hercules   
jumped from the fence and stood in the path of the other cats, just like he had   
done when they had first met.  
Hercules meyowed an insult that Luna wouldn't dare repeat to the cats, and   
they dispersed almost instantly. Luna looked at the obese cat as it stood   
there, as if posing for glamour shots. She couldn't believe the way that cat   
acted around her. She wasn't sure if he knew that she had no interest in him   
except for a friend, if she was pressed for answers.  
"Hercules, I'm here to protect you for a while. I just needed that to get   
your attention and bring you to me, so if you could kindly get us out of here,"   
Luna said. He led her out of the neighborhood, blushing the whole way. Luna   
was still trying to figure out how cats could blush.  
As Luna led Hercules down the street, she caught sight of Amy and Lita   
walking towards them.  
  
"Lita! Amy!" she called to them. They looked a bit different than usual.   
Lita pointed at them and the pair rushed them. Lita kicked Luna and tried to   
grab Hercules. Hercules got away, and Luna followed him quickly. When Luna   
turned around, Lita was in hot pursuit. Amy was nowhere to be seen until she   
looked in front of them. Coming out of the alleyway in front of them was Amy.   
Hercules showed no signs of slowing down as they headed for a collision course   
with Amy. Suddenly, just before they reached Amy, Hercules jumped into a   
conveniently opened manhole, into the sewers.  
"Oh, no, not again!" Luna exclaimed as she followed Hercules into the   
manhole. They found themselves in darkness when they landed, on their feet, of   
course. It was a good thing that they were cats, and could see in darkness.   
Hercules led Luna down the pathway towards she knew not where. Soon enough,   
they could hear voices behind them coming their way quickly. They were in   
trouble, because they were headed down a dead end, and if they turned back, they   
would run into the crazed Scouts.  
  
"Where did those cats go?" Lita asked as Amy and she stared into the   
manhole.  
"In there," Amy responded as she tried to see where they had gone without   
actually going in.  
"Of course they went in there, you dolt!" Lita yelled at her inferior.   
"You think that I can't see that with my own eyes? Let's get in there. You   
first."  
"What do you mean, 'You first?' You're going in first, fearless leader."  
"Look, we'll do this logically. Who has the computer and visor that can   
give her infrared vision or let her see in the dark?"  
"Me, but..."  
"Well, then, IN!!!" Lita yelled, pushing Amy in the hole. Amy fell in   
with a scream and landed soon thereafter with a thud and a pained exclamation.   
Lita jumped in and landed beside Amy, but just barely.  
"What did you do that for?!?!" Amy asked. She grimaced in pain, rubbing   
her leg gingerly.  
"What's wrong with you?" Lita asked.  
"Broken leg, I think," Amy answered.  
"Oh, get up! It's nothing! Besides that, we can get Rubeus to fix it   
when we get back with that cat, unless you want me to take you out of the   
running for the rewards that we'll get when we return right now."  
"I can't walk by myself," Amy complained, on the verge of tears. Her   
headache was getting worse by the second, and she could feel the bones grate   
against each other every time that she moved her leg.  
"All right! I'll send you back, for Pete's sake!" Lita reached into her   
subspace pocket and pulled her teleporter out. She aimed it at Amy and turned   
it on. Amy disappeared within a couple of seconds. Lita turned down the sewer   
path in the direction that wasn't blocked off by a wall. She held out her hand   
to let a ball of light appear in it, and she went down that way, careful not to   
slip into the water.  
After about a minute, she came to the dead end, where the two cats sat by   
the side, like lambs waiting for the slaughter. She reached into her subspace   
pocket again and took out her transformation pen.  
"Jupiter Star Power!" she yelled, transforming herself into the new   
version of Jupiter, the evil version of Jupiter. She stood in the outfit,   
staring at the cats, waiting to see if they would do anything.  
"Hercules, what do we do now?" Luna asked, frightened. Hercules turned to   
the side of the water, and prepared to jump in. "NO! That's not exactly in the   
top ten things that I want to do in this life time. Actually, it's not in the   
top one-hundred or even one-thousand things." He seemed bent on it, and it   
looked like the only plausible solution, so Luna gave in. She joined Hercules   
by the side, and the two cats jumped in as the ball of light that Jupiter had   
been holding flew towards them.  
Jupiter stared in the water for a moment. "I could send a shock through   
the current, but that might kill them. Looks like I'm gonna have to go in after   
them. The things I do for this job..." She jumped in the water and looked   
around to see which way the cats had gone. The water was too murky to see   
through, though.  
She could feel the disturbances from the direction that they had headed,   
and began to go that way. Wait, she thought to herself, That's towards the   
wall, isn't it? Unless... She swam towards the direction that the disturbances   
were coming from, and she found a pipe in the wall just large enough for her to   
fit in. She went back up to the surface and got a full lung of air. She took   
another shot at the pipe. It wasn't a long pipe, thank goodness.  
She surfaced just in time to see the cats climb up onto the bank. She   
followed in suit. The cats started running down the sewer and came eventually   
to a manhole that would surface right near Serena's and Michael's school.   
Jupiter wasn't too far behind them, so they had to scramble up the ladder. Luna   
pushed Hercules up the ladder for going too slow. Jupiter followed them as   
quickly and comfortably as she could.  
  
It was lunch time, and Serena's class had been let out. Serena and   
Michael sat down to eat, and they were confronted by Rigel in the bushes.   
Serena joined Michael to talk with Rigel.  
"Hi, Rigel, what's up?" Serena asked quietly.  
"Not much. What's the verdict on the communicator?" Rigel asked.  
"Serena can't help us. She's techno-illiterate. We'll have to ask Luna,"   
Michael answered before Serena could.  
"Ah, crap. How about the meeting?" Rigel asked in annoyed tones.  
"I was about to call the others and set that up," Serena said.  
"During school hours?" Michael asked.  
"Why not?" Serena responded.  
"Well, someone could take a communicator away for going off during class,   
or someone could find out about the others," Rigel said.  
"Hmmm... You have a point there," Serena said. "I'm a bit scatter-brained   
at times. You'll have to excuse me."  
"No need to apologize," Michael said. "We'll just call them up right   
after school's over."  
Serena sniffed the air. "What's that smell?" she asked.  
Michael joined her in smelling the odor which had overtaken their   
conversation. "I don't know," he said in response.  
Rigel joined the two others. "It smells like a cat drenched with sewer   
water. No, wait! Two cats drenched in sewer water. And the additional scent   
of Serena means that it must be Luna, unless I'm mixing scents."  
"Now, that's a set of sniffers!" Serena exclaimed, amazed.  
"You're tripping, Rigel!" Michael said. "If Luna is a cat, she wouldn't   
get into sewer water unless her life depended on it, maybe not even then."  
"Well, it did," Luna said, stepping out of the hedge a little bit further   
down from Rigel, who was fighting to keep from laughing out loud. "Now, if you   
two could come out here, Hercules and I need some help."  
"What sort of help?" Serena asked. A muffled meow was heard behind the   
hedge.  
Luna went back through, followed closely by Michael and Rigel. Serena   
stayed behind, not wanting to mess up her outfit. Jupiter stood there, holding   
Hercules by the scruff of the neck, and holding his mouth shut so that no one   
could hear his pained yowls. She pointed the teleporter at him and turned it   
on. The fat cat disappeared in a moment, leaving Jupiter standing there, alone   
with Michael and Rigel.  
"So, do some pitiful humans want to mess with me?" Jupiter sneered. She   
took a battle stance as the opponent took out his transformation stick.  
"Europa Star Power!" Michael yelled out after checking to see that no one   
would see him transform. Within a few seconds, Serena was with him, ready to   
brave the attacks sent their way by the now-evil Jupiter.  
"Moon Crystal Power!" Serena yelled, transforming into Sailor Moon.   
Jupiter laughed as she threw her hands out in a wide arc.  
"Jupiter Super Shock, ZAP!" A strong wave of electricity flew through the   
air towards the two Sailor Scouts.  
"What was that?" Europa asked as the wave of electricity rolled over them   
and threw them to the ground.  
"Darned if I know," Moon said woozily. "Never had her do that before."  
"Rubeus taught it to me. He'll defeat you pitiful Sailor Scouts with the   
Super Shadow Warrior!" Jupiter taunted.  
"Hey, you're a Sailor Scout, too!" Moon called out as she passed out.  
"She's a Sailor Scout?" Europa asked in amazement. He seemed on the verge   
of going out as well.  
"Yeah! Sailor Jupiter, or Lita in real life," Luna answered. She turned   
to Rigel. "Let's do the old healing power."  
"Good idea," Rigel said. A crescent moon appeared on his forehead as he   
turned toward Luna.  
The crescent began to glow as Luna turned towards him, and hers did the   
same. A beam shot from both of their foreheads and met in between the two.   
When they met, a flash of light shone briefly, and a healing power went through   
the two Scouts on the ground. Moon woke up and was on her feet, along with   
Europa, and ready for another shot at the errant Scout.  
"Europa Earth..." Io said, preparing his attack.  
"No!" Moon said, stopping him. "Do you have anything a bit... less harsh?   
She is one of us, after all."  
"Okay, how's this? Europa Sandstorm, Blow!" Europa said, pointing a   
finger at Jupiter. A wind blew up, pelting Jupiter with sand particles that   
stung as much as bee stings. Jupiter eventually had to retreat, but it was just   
to regain her sight. As she rubbed her eyes, Moon took her brooch off of her   
oversized bow. The brooch opened, revealing the Imperium Silver Crystal.  
"Moon Crystal Healing, Activation!" she called out. The crystal let loose   
with a power that purged Jupiter of any evil energy in her. When the Crystal   
had finished its work, the brooch closed, and Moon replaced it on her bow.   
Jupiter had collapsed from the exertion and the strength that the healing   
process had taken from her. When the Crystal stopped, it reverted her to   
normal, wearing her school uniform. Sailors Moon and Europa reverted and went   
to check on Lita.  
"Lita, are you all right?" Serena asked concernedly.  
"I'm tired, Mommy, I want to sleep just five more minutes, please," Lita   
answered.  
"Has she digressed to a younger age?" Michael asked.  
"No, she's always like this in the morning. Just give me a couple of   
seconds." She leaned over to Lita's ear and whispered, "Lita! It's Andrew! He   
wants to talk to you about a date..." The instant that the words reached Lita's   
ears, she sat bolt upright.  
"Huh? Where's Andrew?" Lita asked. "Ooh, that was a dirty trick to play   
on someone. I was just trying to get some sleep." She looked around and   
noticed Michael, Rigel, and the soaked Luna. "Serena, would you mind telling me   
what's going on here?"  
"Lita, meet Michael Cross. Michael, meet Lita Kino. He's a Sailor Scout   
like us. Sailor Europa."  
"Who's the dog?" Lita asked.  
"I beg your pardon," Rigel said, "But I'm the guardian of Europa, named   
Rigel."  
"Oh, man! A talking dog who's on our side. This'll take some getting   
used to."  
"What do you mean?" Serena asked.  
"Well, after living so long with two cats, it'll be a change having to   
deal with a dog," Lita replied.  
"Nah, they're pretty much the same thing," Michael said. "They're furry   
and they talk too much." Rigel frowned at the assessment, but decided to let it   
pass for the time.  
"Now, what happened to you, Luna?" Lita asked, turning to the soaked,   
smelling cat.  
"You don't remember?" Luna asked. Lita shook her head. "You chased me   
and Hercules through the sewers, and we had to go for a dip to get here."  
"Well, that would explain the smell on you and me," Lita said, wrinkling   
her nose at a whiff of Luna and herself.  
"Lita, you go home for the rest of the day. No one's expecting you at   
school, and you need a rest," Serena said. Luna, Michael, and Rigel agreed with   
her. Serena turned to Luna. "And I'll need to give you a bath tonight."  
"I don't think that I'll disagree with you there," Luna said, for once not   
running for the hills when Serena mentioned the dreaded "B-word" in conjunction   
with her name. The bell for classes to start up again went off, and Serena and   
Michael headed inside.  
Lita went off in the direction of her apartment building, hoping that no   
one she knew would find her. Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed to pieces   
when she came across Andrew. It was a good thing that she had Luna with her for   
moral support, or she would have keeled over dead right there and then.  
"My gosh, Lita! What happened to you and Luna? You look and smell like   
you were at the dump and it sank while you were there!" Andrew said.  
"To make a long story short, we had some dirty Sailor business to attend   
to in the sewer," Lita said  
"Well, you look like you went for a dip!" Andrew said. He wasn't really   
helping Lita's self-esteem at the moment.  
"Actually, we did. And I never plan on doing it again. Now if you'll   
excuse me, Luna and I have to get cleaned off." Lita and the wet cat went off   
again in the direction of Lita's apartment. Lita was incredibly glad to be   
home again. She needed some time to relax after what she had just been through.  
"Lita, what happened to Amy?" Luna asked.  
Lita thought for a minute, trying to remember what had happened. After a   
few moments, she gasped in remembrance. "I'm almost ashamed to say. While I   
was under their influence, I pushed her down the manhole and broke her leg. I   
hope that she's all right."  
"Yeah, the Negaverse'll do that to you. You feeling better now?" Luna   
asked, waiting for the bathtub to get filled. She really wasn't going to clean  
herself in this case.  
"Much. Shall we?" Lita asked, indicating the way to the shower. "You   
want to go first, or shall I?"  
"After you, by all means."  
Lita and Luna enjoyed getting cleaned off and sat around the house,   
sleeping for the rest of the day after drying off.  
  
End of Part four  
  
Coming soon: The Fires of Destiny  
  
Well, it's finished. This part, at least. If the Scouts seem to be   
acting strangely to you, think about it for a second. Their brains have been   
wiped clean and they've been made evil. I think that they're going to be acting   
strangely. As always, E-mail your comments to: jmh6187@uncwil.edu. 


	5. The Fires of Destiny

Hello! I'm back at it again! As always, the characters in this story   
aren't mine, unless they were created by me. The ones not created by me are   
owned by Naoko Takeuchi, Bandai, DiC and other large corporations. I won't ever   
say that I own the characters, unless I do, so there!  
Also, if I step on anyone's toes by using characters similar to theirs, my   
bad. I can't read every fanfic that is posted on the internet or anywhere else.   
It's almost humanly impossible.  
  
Shadows From the Past  
by: M. H. Torringjan  
  
Part five: The Fires of Destiny  
  
Raye awoke in the middle of the night, disturbed by a dream that she had   
had. It was another one about her mother. Raye had always been disturbed by   
these dreams, but recently, the dreams had been growing in intensity. She was   
beginning to become worried about herself, and perhaps even her future. She   
decided to check the sacred fire for any signs of trouble.  
As she sat down at the fire, she felt a presence in the room. Chad was   
asleep by the door. He would cause her no trouble in her reading. Raye   
concentrated on the warmth of the flame. She felt the presence fill her as she   
looked into the fire.  
"Sacred fire, show me the answer which I seek," Raye began. "I must know   
what is wrong with me."  
Raye looked at the flame for a moment. As she looked, she saw many   
sights, all in a second. Most of them, she couldn't clearly make out. One was   
her mother's casket, empty. Another was of Raye at her current age standing   
next to her mother. The final was of Raye lying in a bed of roses with her   
friends standing over her.  
These views disturbed Raye and completely overwhelmed her. She was   
flooded with different feelings. The strongest was sadness. She didn't like to   
think of her mother's death. Another was fear; what did the bed of roses   
mean? And what was with her standing next to her mother? She didn't want to   
think about it. She was too tired. But, she was too awake to sleep. She hated   
being that way, especially this early in the morning. It was cold, so Raye   
decided to go back to her bed. She was asleep in fifteen minutes, by some   
miracle.  
  
Rubeus looked at the healing chamber with disgust. Jupiter had pushed   
Mercury into the sewer, breaking Mercury's leg, then went and got herself healed   
by Sailor Moon. The whole affair smelled of conspiracy. Rubeus couldn't afford   
those sorts of mistakes. He knew that his attack force of one Scout would fail   
against a full-fledged force of five Sailor Scouts. He would send a Droid with   
Mercury on her next mission to ensure triumph.  
"Droid Juggernaut, come forth!" The Droid that approached was as tall as   
a one-story city building, and about as tough. About as fast and smart, too.   
It looked like a tank with eyes and a head on the top of its hatch. He had   
designed it so that it would take no damage from any Scout-originated attack.   
It had only one weak point, and the Scouts had lost it before they were even   
Scouts.  
He looked over at his mirror to choose his next target. It didn't matter   
which one he went after. The pair would win anyway. He chose the old man who   
had caused so much trouble to Zoicite when she had tried to capture him. It   
would be an easy enough target, and perhaps a chance to kill a Sailor Scout.   
All he had to do now was wait for the blasted healing chamber to finish its   
work. The thing had never gotten any use before that, and it had to go through   
all these system checks, dusting the cobwebs off and all that. For now, he   
would wait.  
  
Raye awoke at seven o'clock. She had to get ready for school quickly.   
She needed some food after her little prophecy the night before. She was   
getting bored. She hadn't been in any battles in the past two days, and she had   
a lot of pent-up energy that she would need to let out.  
Raye left at about seven thirty for school. She hated it that she didn't   
go to school closer to the Temple. She hated having to leave Grandpa unguarded   
for such a long time. On her way to school, she came across Luna.  
"Luna, hi!" Raye greeted.  
"Good morning, Raye!" Luna responded cheerily.  
"Has anything happened in the past two days that I need to know about?"   
Raye asked.  
"Yesterday, Hercules got taken. We got Lita back."  
"That means that you're off guard duty! Can you go to the Temple and look   
after Grandpa until I can get back there this afternoon?"  
"Of course, Raye," Luna said. She considered asking Artemis to come with   
her, but she knew that he would just be trying to make passes at her. She   
wasn't about to ask Rigel for obvious reasons. She figured that she could fly   
it solo for one more day and hoped that she could do better than she had   
guarding Hercules.  
Luna went in the direction of the Temple in the fastest manner possible,   
taking every shortcut she knew. Raye watched her go, and hoped that Grandpa   
would be all right under Luna's supervision. She hurried back on her way to   
school again, and she hoped that she wouldn't be late because of her meeting   
Luna. Raye hadn't told Luna about her visions because she wanted to be sure of   
what they meant herself.  
Raye got to her school on time, but just barely. She sat down at her seat   
next to her friend, Jessica Tanten. She was a little taller than Raye, had   
black hair, and weighed a little more (give or take). Shee was overly religious   
and about as smart as Raye. As she sat down, Jessica greeted her.  
"Hi, Raye! What a beautiful day that we've been blessed with," she said.   
"What's new with you?"  
"I had a weird vision last night," Raye responded.  
"What was it about? Did it show your death or something? You look about   
as white as a sheet when you talk about it."  
"Well, I'm not sure." She went on to explain what she had seen, paying   
special attention to the bed of roses.  
"Sounds pretty rough. I hope it's not what we think. That would suck if   
you died."  
"I was thinking the same thing, but not quite in those terms." Raye sat   
in quiet thought until class began with a lecture on French history.  
  
Luna sat in the courtyard of the Temple, watching Chad and Grandpa do some   
training. Grandpa was showing Chad the correct way to meditate or something.   
Luna didn't really care. She was just there to do Raye's job while Raye was at   
school. She watched as Chad and Grandpa sat in the courtyard, motionless.   
People were walking past the gate, seeing if the place was open to sell any good   
luck charms, or at least at what hour they began selling. Luna got so bored   
sitting in the tree, that she fell asleep for a while.  
When she awoke, Grandpa and Chad were gone. She ran around the courtyard,   
looking frantically for the two. What she wanted to know was, why would the   
Negaverse take a son of a well-off family like Chad. It's like they would have   
any use for him.  
Luna went inside, where she found the two eating lunch. It was noon time,   
wasn't it? Luna stayed out of sight where the two men wouldn't see her. She   
was getting bored with this job, and she began to wonder why she had taken it.   
It was because Raye needed someone's help when I was the only one around, Luna   
told herself.  
After lunch, Chad tuned up his guitar and began to play a bit. Luna went   
outside to escape the faults that Chad's fingers made on the guitar strings.   
She wanted to get out of there, but she had a job to do. She would deal with   
Raye when she got back from school.  
  
Serena ate her lunch with a ravenous appetite, as usual. Lita and Michael   
watched the other kids running around, playing or joining their friends for   
lunch. They had finished their food long ago, and were waiting for Serena to   
finish. Serena looked up from her food for a moment and saw Rigel sitting in   
the bushes, urging her and the others over to him.  
"Rigel, what's up?" Michael asked as he and Lita got to the dog.  
"There's a new monster out and about, or there will be soon. We'll need   
all the help that we can get to beat it."  
"How do you know that?" Lita asked.  
"I got a message from Central Control that they've picked up a new reading   
coming from where these Droids are coming from," Rigel answered. "It's heading   
towards us slowly but surely."  
"Wait a minute," Serena said. "If we know where these things are coming   
from, then why don't we just go up there and annihilate them now?"  
"Tell me something, Serena. How do you think that five Sailor Scouts will   
do against an army of a thousand Droids? A hundred thousand?"  
"Good point. Never mind."  
"We need to be prepared for the attack. It's almost a given that the   
Droid will be tough enough that we'll all need to be there if we plan on beating   
it."  
"All right. When is it supposed to get here?" Michael asked.  
"At its present rate, it will get here at about five o'clock this   
afternoon."  
"Rigel, who is this Central Control anyway?" Serena asked. "Luna talked   
about it a lot before Artemis and Mina joined us, but now she doesn't say a   
thing about it."  
"Central Control is the group of people who gives us our orders. If I   
understand correctly, they are a small number of technical geniuses who we hired   
for our use. They monitor Earth for us and tell us what our best next move   
would be. Artemis was working for them at one time."  
"Wait, let me get this straight," Michael said disbelievingly. "You hired   
them, and they're giving you orders."  
"Yeah, that's about the size of it. Bureaucracy sucks, eh? Now, back to   
the point. I want us to meet after school at the Temple so that we can be ready   
for the attack, wherever it hits."  
"Works for me," Michael said. The bell rang, and Serena and the others   
went back into their classes. Serena didn't like the idea of going back in.   
She hated geography class.  
  
Mina got out of her class at the normal time, and prepared to go home.   
She was met by Artemis outside the school, and he had some important news to   
tell her.  
"Mina, we've gotta talk. There's going to be trouble in about thirty   
minutes. We've got to go to the Temple. The others are there, and they're   
ready for action already."  
"What sort of action?" Mina asked. "Is there another Droid?"  
"Good guess. We've gotta hurry, because the others are going to need all   
the help they can get. Do you have your transformation stick?"  
"Sorry, Artemis, I forgot it today," Mina said.  
"After I reminded you three times to take it with you. Let's hurry and   
get it. We don't have much time." The pair rushed to Mina's home and grabbed   
her transformation pen to take it with them. She got to the Temple at exactly   
five o'clock. The sky was getting darker by the second, and there was a large,   
black portal opening by the tree in the courtyard. The others had already   
transformed and were forming a defensive arrangement around the portal. They   
were prepared to send the threat back into the portal where it had come from.  
"Venus Star Power!" Mina called out, changing into her Sailor Scout. She   
took a place beside Europa, preparing to attack the instant that she saw the   
Droid. "Ready for some action, Europa?" Venus asked.  
"Always am," Europa answered, half of a sly grin crossing his face.   
"Don't you get hurt. I've just known you for a day or so, I don't want to lose   
you already."  
"You underestimate my abilities," Venus said.  
As the five Sailor Scouts watched, a giant tank-looking form came out of   
the portal, followed by Mercury. Mercury was carrying a sword that had been   
given her by Rubeus for the attack. It looked about as tall as Mercury, and   
about as powerful as her. Moon wondered how Mercury could stand to hold   
something like that for so long. When both the soldiers were through, the   
portal closed.  
"Mercury, what are you doing?" Jupiter asked.  
"You shouldn't have betrayed us, Jupiter. We were going to spare your   
life, but now, we'll just have to kill you," Mercury yelled as she raised the   
sword to signal the robot to attack.  
The cannon on the Droid's arm targeted the Scouts and fired a stream of   
fire their way. All of them were able to dodge the attack easily.  
"Jupiter Thunderclap, ZAP!" Jupiter called as she shot a barrage of energy   
towards the giant Droid. The Droid stuck out a dish-type apparatus from its   
chest, blocking the lightning and sending it back towards the Scouts. Jupiter   
was at ground zero when the bolt struck the ground, and was thrown for a loop.   
The others were at a safe enough distance that they only felt a grand tremor and   
a slight shock. Mars rushed to check on her fallen friend, leaving the other   
three to do battle with the giant Juggernaut.  
"Venus, how about that combo?" Europa said.  
"What is it?" Venus asked.  
"The Earth Shocker!" Rigel answered from his hiding place.  
"Earth Shocker!" the two called out at the same time. A beam of energy   
ran out of Venus, meeting with a vine from the ground where Europa was standing.   
The vine rushed through the ground until it reached the Droid's position. A   
moment later, under the Droid, a blast came from under the ground, knocking the   
Droid on its side. Juggernaut immediately began working on getting up. Small   
jets came out of its side and started blowing it back upright. Sailor Moon took   
this opportunity to use her Scepter.  
"Moon Scepter, Elimination!" Moon called out, charging her Scepter's power   
level to the top. She let loose with a blast that hit the Droid, who sucked the   
energy into its own power systems. It had a momentary boost of energy, which   
righted it completely. It began moving forward at an increased speed. It   
didn't look like it was going to stop, either.  
"Mercury Ice Storm, Blast!" Mercury called out, sending waves of freezing   
rain over the helpless Sailor Scouts. Sailor Moon could feel herself slowing   
down, and she took her brooch off. The brooch opened as Sailor Moon tapped its   
power.  
"Moon Crystal Healing, Activation!" Moon yelled. The Imperium Silver   
Crystal channeled its power into Mercury, purging her of the evil that was in   
her. Amy fell forward, asleep from exertion. Sailor Moon, still slowed from   
the freeze that she had felt, got Amy to safety. Then, there was only one more   
problem.  
Europa, Venus, Mars, and Moon rushed to where the Juggernaut was going   
after Grandpa. The Droid ripped the roof off the Temple to get to the old man.  
"Man, that'll cost a pretty penny to fix, eh, Mars?" Europa said.  
"That guy's gonna pay for that!" Mars said through gritted teeth. "I   
wanna take him out!" She rushed up to the foot of the Juggernaut and started to   
attack it. "Mars Celestial Fire, Surround!" The flames went in rings around   
the base of the Droid, causing minor burn marks on its metal. When the Droid   
sensed this, it reached down with its large mechanical hand and batted Mars back   
into the others. It reached into the frame of the building and grabbed Grandpa.   
It opened another portal behind it and turned to leave. Mars got one last good   
look at it when it went through the portal. On its back was a symbol that   
looked very familiar. The symbol resembled a bauble that she had seen in   
pictures of her mother.  
Finally, all the pieces were starting to fall in place. The key to   
beating this Droid laid in Raye's mother somehow. She would have to ask Luna   
about it after she had helped the others.  
Everyone reverted to their original forms and was going back to help one   
of their friends. Mina and Michael were helping Jupiter, who had woken up when   
the Droid had gone through its portal, while Serena was helping Amy. Raye went   
over to help Amy. Amy was only asleep, and not wounded. Mina and Michael helped   
to get Jupiter to the remains of the Temple. When they got there, she reverted.  
"What happened?" Amy asked when she woke up.  
"It's a long story," Raye said to her friend as she went to check on Lita.   
She wished that she knew how to work Amy's computer so that she could check   
vital signs and whatnot. At that time, Chad emerged from the place that he had   
been hiding in for the duration of the attack. He was white and shaking like   
Serena usually did.  
"Raye, what did that thing do to our Temple?!" he exclaimed.  
"What does it look like it did?" Raye asked, slightly annoyed at Chad's   
denseness. "It trashed the place. Man, what are we gonna do? We're out of a   
place to live." Serena felt sorry about what had happened to Raye. She felt   
like she had to do something.  
"Raye," Serena began cautiously, "I'm sure that my parents wouldn't mind   
letting you stay when they hear what happened."  
"Serena? You'd do that for me?" Raye asked disbelievingly.  
"What about me?" Chad begged.  
"My parents don't like boys in the house," Serena said. "Especially not   
older guys."  
"Bummer. I guess I'll just have to get another job and make some money to   
rent an apartment." Chad looked slightly downcast at the prospect of having to   
work.  
"Come on, Raye! We've got to talk to my parents and convince them to let   
you stay with us!" Serena said as she started off in the direction of her house.   
The sky had cleared up after the Juggernaut had left, and it was almost like   
nothing had happened now. Except for the crumbling building and the fire-trucks   
and police cars gathering at the scene. The smoke from the wreckage rose into   
the sky, adding a certain air of triumph to the afternoon. Triumph for the   
Negaverse, at least. All the other Scouts left feeling down and out. Mina and   
Michael decided to try and make something out of the afternoon by going to a   
movie together. Lita and Amy went to Amy's house so that Lita could give her   
the work that Serena had collected for her over the past two days from school.  
Tuxedo Mask watched from the top of a nearby building. He dearly wished   
that he had gotten there in time to help the Scouts, who seemed to have needed   
it by the looks of the Temple. Well, its remains, anyway. He might have been   
able to save Grandpa if he had tried. Of course, that could just be some major   
delusions of grandeur talking there. He could see that they had gotten the last   
of the group back. They had done well enough without him for the past couple of   
days, but he felt that he would need to help them soon.  
  
Rubeus sat in his mirror room gloating over his victory. He knew that the   
Juggernaut would do the job. Who needed that Scout anyway? She was a wimp when   
it came to fighting anyway. He listened to the screams and yells of those in   
the prisoner chamber for a minute. He loved listening to their tormented calls   
for help. Those gave him such a high.  
Juggernaut was recharging and getting some upgrades. It would be ready   
for another strike the next day. The Scouts wouldn't have a chance against the   
new Juggernaut. He watched his mirror as the firefighters tried to make sure   
that the Temple was safe and the police interrogating anyone who had the   
slightest idea of what had happened. Rubeus gave a laugh at the sight of part   
of the Temple collapsing on some workers. That would sting in the morning.  
  
Serena and Raye had reached Serena's house and were building up the   
courage to ask the elder Tsukinos for permission to let Raye stay. Luna was   
feeling proud of Serena for making the choice by herself to help out Raye.  
"Okay, so we'll start off by telling them about the Temple, then, we'll   
wing it from there," Serena said.  
"Okay, but you're doing the talking," Raye said. "You know better how to   
handle your parents than me."  
"I'm not arguing with you on that," Serena said, leading Raye into the   
living room where her parents were watching the news on TV. There was a report   
on about the Temple's destruction.  
"Hello, Serena," Mrs. Tsukino said in greeting. "Have you heard about   
what happened to the Temple on Cherry Hill?"  
"Yeah, I was right near there when it happened," Serena said.  
"Do you know what happened exactly?"  
"No. I would have stayed to talk to the police if I did."  
"I wonder what will happen to those people who lived in it. Your friend   
Raye lives there, doesn't she?" Mr. Tsukino said.  
"Yeah, and that's what I came to talk with you about."  
"I wish that there was something that we could do for them," Mrs. Tsukino   
said. She didn't know that Raye was standing right outside the room.  
"There is," Serena said. She beckoned Raye to enter. "Raye needs   
someplace to stay until she can get another place, and..."  
"I know what you're thinking, Serena," Mr. Tsukino said, "And I think that   
it'll be a tight squeeze for everyone, but we should be able to handle her   
staying here." Raye couldn't help but express the relief that she felt, and Mr.   
Tsukino saw it. "We're a bit short on beds, so you'll have to sleep on the   
couch down here."  
"I don't mind," Raye said. "I'm just thankful that you're being so   
generous."  
"Nonsense," Mrs. Tsukino admonished, "You're one of Serena's friends. We   
should help you when this sort of thing happens, just don't make it a habit."   
She got a laugh out of her joke. She was the only one, though. "Anyway, you go   
and get your stuff that you'll need, and we'll get you set up down here."  
Raye and Serena left the house and headed towards the remains of the   
Temple, hoping that they would be able to salvage some clothes from the   
wreckage. They were able to get through the police line easily enough when they   
said that they were the Temple's caretakers. Most of the rooms were full of   
rubble, and dangerous to enter. Raye was able to push her way into her room   
with little trouble, and she got a suitcase full of clothes and hygiene items to   
keep with her. The thing that made her the angriest at the droid was that he   
had taken Grandpa, although it was followed closely by trashing the Temple.  
Raye got into Serena's house and sat around for the rest of the night,   
meditating out of everyone's way about what her visions had meant, completely.   
She got nothing that she hadn't already figured out. She finally gave up and   
went to talk to Luna. She told Luna about her visions and the conclusions that   
she had come to during the battle.  
"That is truly puzzling, but I think that I know how to solve it," Luna   
said. "The Droid had a sign on its back that looked like the bauble of your   
mother's, right?" Raye nodded. "Then, we'll have to get this bauble. It holds   
some magical potential, probably. We won't know unless we get it from her   
directly."  
"Do you mean digging her up?" Raye asked offensively. She didn't want to   
dig up her mother.  
"No, I mean get her to give it to us," Luna said, laying her head down to   
get some sleep. Raye wondered what Luna had meant by that last statement, and   
she dwelt upon it until she went to sleep. She slept calmly for the rest of the   
night.  
  
End of part five  
  
Coming up: The Dead Come Back  
  
Well, that's the end of this chapter, too. Five down, four to go. As   
always, E-mail me with comments, suggestions, flames, etc. at:   
jmh6187@uncwil.edu. I'll read anything that is sent to me, because I just   
*love* getting E-mail. See you later! 


	6. The Dead Come Back

I don't own many of these characters. The ones I don't are owned by Naoko   
Takeuchi and countless others. The ones I do, I can only say one thing about   
them. At least tell me if you want to use them (riiiiiiiight... you just keep   
thinking that, M.H.) and put some sort of thing in the story somewhere saying   
that I created the character. But anyway...  
  
Shadows From the Past  
by: M. H. Torringjan  
  
Part six: The Dead Come Back  
  
The next morning, Raye was awake before the rest of the house. She felt   
hungry, but thought that it was a bad idea to eat before the Tsukino family.   
She figured that she could wait for a while.  
After waiting for about a half hour, she got fed up. Of course, she was   
awake at six in the morning. She decided to make breakfast for everyone.  
Raye went into the kitchen and, trying not to make enough noise to wake   
the rest of the house, got out some pans and pots. In the fridge, she found   
the ingredients she needed: eggs and cheese and a little bit of meat. She took   
a look in the cupboard to find some spices that would make her food taste   
better.  
Within ten minutes, Raye had two omelets laying on a plate on the dining   
table. She was surprised that she hadn't woken any of the Tsukinos up with all   
the noise she had made. If they didn't get up soon, she would have to eat the   
food by herself, and Serena wouldn't have forgiven her for that.  
Soon after she had finished, Mr. Tsukino came downstairs, dressed for   
work.  
"Good morning, Mr. Tsukino," Raye greeted.  
"Hello, Sere..." Mr. Tsukino said without seeing who he was talking to.   
He looked at Raye for a moment as she stood at the stove. "Oh, sorry Raye. You   
get used to only having one girl around the house after about fourteen years. I   
was wondering how Serena could be up this early and cooking without burning or   
breaking something. What are you cooking?" He looked at the table and noticed   
the omelets laying on it. "Oh, you didn't have to do that."  
"It's the least I can do for your hospitality," Raye said. "Besides that,   
I was the first one up. I decided to do something productive with my time."   
She pulled the chair out from under the table for Mr. Tsukino to sit down. He   
began eating greedily as Raye returned to the stove.  
About another fifteen minutes later, Mrs. Tsukino came down the stairs to   
the sight of Raye cooking and Mr. Tsukino eating. Mrs. Tsukino decided not to   
ask questions and sat down to join Mr. Tsukino. They really liked Raye's   
cooking, and Raye thought that she sensed a little bit of jealousy coming from   
Mrs. Tsukino.  
Raye stopped cooking only long enough to eat an omelet for herself. She   
was surprised to see Serena come down at seven o'clock. It was a bit early for   
Serena, Raye thought, since Serena was yawning all the way to the table. She   
only noticed the omelets as she sat down. She began eating as quickly as she   
could.  
"This is really good, Mom," Serena said in awe.  
"Well, you have Raye to thank for it," Mrs. Tsukino said. "She cooked up   
all this with no help."  
"Good going, Raye!" Serena said. "I've never had your cooking, but it's   
good!" She looked up at the clock. "Oh, no! I'm late!" Serena rushed out the   
door at a cheetah's pace and raced down the street. Raye realized that if   
Serena was late, then she was late, too! And she didn't even have her uniform   
on!  
She grabbed her uniform out of her bag and raced up to Serena's room,   
where Luna was trying to get some sleep. She had her uniform on and was out the   
door in record time for the Tsukino house. She hoped to everything holy that   
she would get there on time. "Well," she thought, "If Serena can do it, so can   
I!" She rushed down the street faster than Serena had trying not to run anyone   
over.  
  
"All right!" Rubeus exclaimed as the Juggernaut came out of the remodeling   
chamber. It now had giant legs and feet to walk on instead of wheels. That   
would make it even harder to beat! It could do anything that Rubeus could ever   
want it to, including destroy the Sailor Scouts!  
It also had a jet pack on its back, giving it the ability to fly. Rubeus   
had given it infrared sight so that it could track anything that registered heat   
within a mile of its position. It seemed eager to do whatever Rubeus commanded   
it to, but it needed to be recharged first. That would take a couple of hours,   
considering the size of the Droid.  
There would only be one problem. The Scouts had their whole party   
together, so they had a chance to beat the Juggernaut. He hoped that they   
wouldn't be able to piece the puzzle together. He watched the Juggernaut as it   
walked through the door to the recharging chamber. Maybe he shouldn't have put   
that symbol on its back.  
The next target would be the artist, Loni Lenai. She would be easy enough   
to get, and there would be added mayhem because the attack had been scheduled   
for the time that she was holding an exhibition for charity. The other people   
there would be terrified out of their checkbooks!  
  
Raye arrived a school with only a couple of seconds to spare. She sat   
down at her desk to catch her breath, and Jessica came over to check on her.  
"What happened to you?" she asked, noticing Raye's breathlessness.  
"My friend lives too far away," Raye answered back.  
"'Scuze me?" Jessica said.  
"You heard what happened to the Temple?" she said.  
"Yeah. Rough luck, eh? Sorry about that."  
"Oh, don't be. I've got a place to stay, and it's so far away from here   
that it's not even funny. I had to run at light speed and a half to get here   
even close to being on time. It might have helped if I hadn't cooked for them."  
"Yeah, I think. Well, you got here on time, so be glad. I bet you're   
hating those Sailor Scouts right about now."  
"What?"  
"The police are saying that from what they got from witnesses, the Sailor   
Scouts demolished the Temple during a fight."  
"No, I hadn't heard that. I really don't think that it was the Scouts'   
fault. It was probably the monster's."  
"Yeah, you just keep thinking what you want. The Sailor Scouts have gone   
too far this time, destroying a sacred place like that. We should get them,   
their monster, and everyone who knows them and lock them all away." Raye was   
glad that the bell rang at that moment, because she was sure that if Jessica had   
gone any further, she would have tried to strangle her.  
  
Later that day, in the park, the three guardians held a meeting. Luna and   
Artemis sat together across from Rigel on a bench. They only talked when people   
weren't close enough to hear them. Luna was worried about the situation with   
Raye.  
"Let's be serious about this for a moment," Luna said. "The Droids are   
increasing in toughness, and this one right now is the first one that we've met   
that we couldn't beat. We need some major help, and I think I know where we're   
going to find it. You all remember that power that we can only use once per   
lifetime?"  
"The Moon Resurrection?" Rigel confirmed in a fearful voice.  
"That's it," Luna said.  
"You mean that matters have really gotten that bad?" Artemis asked. "I   
mean, there's got to be another answer. Wait a minute, why would we need to use   
it?"  
"Raye told me about her newest visions, and she explained that the symbol   
on the back of the Droid looked like a bauble that her mother owned. I can only   
come to the conclusion that the bauble has some power that will help us. That   
is why we should use it."  
"But don't you think that we should save it up just in case we need it for   
something else?" Rigel asked.  
"Let me put it in ways that even you, lowly dog, may understand it.   
Unless we use this, there won't be a something else. We'll be dead at the hands   
of the combined power of this Droid and the Super Shadow Warrior."  
"Crap," Rigel said, completely understanding the repercussions of the   
situation. "Who wants to tell them?"  
"I'll tell Mina," Artemis said.  
"Then, I'll take Raye," Luna said.  
"I'll tell the four at Crossroads. I always check in with Michael   
anyway," Rigel said. "How long does Central Control say that we have   
until the Droid returns?"  
"It hasn't even spotted the Droid yet" Artemis answered. He was usually   
the one who communicated with Central Control. "We've got plenty of time to   
prepare them."  
  
"Serena, pay attention!" Ms. Haruna said as she taught the Japanese class.   
"You haven't gotten one answer right today. That isn't really unusual, but it's   
extremely disappointing. You need to pay more attention in class, or I'll send   
you to the administrator's office."  
"Sorry, Ms. H, but I was up late last night trying to study for today's   
lesson. It's not as easy as you might think." Serena sat up in her seat as she   
said this, not realizing what she was saying.  
"Well, Serena, if you really tried, I'll try and make it easier," Ms. H   
said. Serena couldn't believe that she was hearing that from her teacher. She   
decided to take advantage of the mood and try to get her math homework easier.   
"Don't push your luck, Serena. I could just set it all back to normal." Serena   
shut her mouth before it could say anything else. Ms. Haruna must have gone on   
another date last night, or else she wouldn't have been this way.  
Ms. Haruna was in such a good mood that she let the class out for lunch a   
few minutes early. Michael, who had been moved to the back of the room upon   
Amy's return, commented on this.  
"Maybe she's been taken over by the Negaverse," he mused with a laugh. He   
sat down with Serena and Amy while they waited for Lita to emerge from the   
school house. "So, Amy, what's it like being taken over by the Negaverse?"  
Amy's expression drooped notably at the question. "You have no feelings,   
no mercy, no friends, only enemies. You think that everyone is out to get you.   
You feel no love at all. That was the worst part of it. I saw Greg and the   
others tortured, and I liked it. I acted like I was on their side. I would..."   
She began to cry.  
"I'm sorry, Amy. I didn't know that it was that painful to remember,"   
Michael said under the warning gaze of Serena. "Let's try another subject. Why   
are all these people being captured?"  
Amy tried to contain her tears, but she failed miserably. Serena took the   
liberty of explaining the problem to Michael. "The people who are being   
kidnapped were the ones who carried the parts of the Imperium Silver Crystal.   
If the Negaverse gets all of them, they'll get this big critter called the Super   
Shadow Warrior. We were able to stop them once before, but now, they've got an   
advantage over us. We should be able to take them out before they take the   
final two, but if they get those final two, we're dead meat."  
"You should have more faith in your powers," Rigel said from his customary   
hiding spot in the bushes.  
"Why do you always hide there, Rigel?" Serena asked.  
"Take a look in here and see," Rigel replied, withdrawing into his cubby   
hole. Serena poked her head in to see what there was to make that place so   
desirable. When she withdrew her head, she had an astonished look on her face.  
"What's in there?" Amy asked between sniffles.  
"He's got a mini TV, a mini fridge, a pad for laying on, and a mini   
entertainment system with everything," Serena replied, unable to wipe the stupor   
from her face. "Leave it to a dog..."  
"Man, Rigel, you've been holding out on us," Michael said, effecting   
offense. "Actually, I'd have expected it from Artemis, from what Mina's told   
us."  
"Do you blame me?" Rigel asked. "I knew that if you knew, you'd take it   
from me. But anyway, I have something extremely important to talk to you all   
about. You are all ready to know about this, so where's Lita?"  
"Here I am, Rigel," Lita said from where she was coming towards the group.   
"What's up? Is the Droid back?"  
"No, not yet. What I need to talk about is another power that you have.   
It's a combo for the whole group called the Moon Resurrection."  
"Really?" Lita asked, her ears perking up at the mention of the word   
"resurrection."  
"Yes. We have some problems with this power, though. It is extremely   
dangerous, and you only have a ten percent chance of living."  
"Don't listen to him on the ten percent" Michael said skeptically. "He   
just grabs random numbers out of mid-air."  
"Whatever, Mike. Anyway, you can also only use this power once in your   
lifetime. You don't have enough spirit stuff to support you after two uses, and   
you supposedly die after a long, painful disease."  
"Thanks, and right after we ate," Lita said. Rigel shot a dangerous   
glance her way.  
"I think that we should be serious about this. We need to know if you   
feel right using this power, because you can't do it again."  
"I think so, but why are we using this?" Michael asked.  
"Raye has a clue that we think can help us defeat the Droid. If any of   
you noticed the symbol on the back of the Droid, it looked like a trinket once   
owned by Raye's mother. We think that it can help us. But the snag is, Raye's   
mother is dead, as most of you know. We have to use the power to bring Raye's   
mother back. We then use the item on this Droid. If we do it, we'll do it   
after school today at Serena's house."  
"Makes sense," Serena said.  
"I'm in," Amy said.  
Lita paused but agreed. She had hoped that when she had first heard the   
power explained that they would be able to use it to revive her parents. They   
had died when she was a child, leaving her with relatives until she moved out on   
her own.  
"All right, then I'll find Mina and Raye to tell them," Rigel said as he   
left the school yard.  
"All right, you guys, so when do you think that this thing's coming for   
us?" Lita said, changing the subject. Amy had stopped crying by then, and she   
wasn't interested in talking about the Negaverse in any way.  
"Do you think that we could talk about something else?" she asked.  
"Okay," Michael said, realizing that she meant another subject completely.   
"Have any of you seen that movie, 'Night On the Moon'?" None of them had.   
"What? Y'all are like the only ones in the city. I went to see it last night   
with Mina, and we loved it! That movie is so awesome! The computer graphics   
are so good! You can't even tell that they're computer-made, most of the time!"  
"Okay, so what about the plot?" Serena asked.  
"It's pretty good." Michael went on to tell them about the movie, and   
then offered to take the lot of them when he took Mina again. "The only problem   
was that Mina came out of the theatre crying."  
"It's a tragedy?" Amy asked.  
"What do you expect with the ship going down and almost everyone on board   
dying?" Lita asked. Amy saw her point.  
  
"Mina, I've got to talk to you," Artemis said from the bushes, watching   
her eat her lunch. "You remember the Droid that we fought last night? How   
tough it was? Well, we think that we've found out how to beat it, but we only   
have one shot at it."  
"Cool! I don't care what the risks are, we've got to get rid of that   
thing," Mina exclaimed. "What's the plan?"  
"We have a special power involving all the Scouts, but it can only be done   
once per lifetime. It doesn't have a high survival rate, either. You still   
in?"  
"Didn't I just say that I didn't mind the risks? If it'll save us, then   
I'm doing it."  
"All right. It's called the Moon Resurrection, and it's going to be used   
to bring back Raye's mother from the dead so that she can help us, at least we   
think that she can help us."  
"All right! I finally get to meet Raye's mom. And for that matter, she   
gets to meet her. I wonder what her mom'll say when she finds out that she's   
been dead for ten years. Wait a minute, if she's been dead for ten years or so,   
then won't the body be a bit decomposed?"  
"Nope. The Moon Resurrection makes any necessary repairs to the body so   
that it's as if it never died. The worst thing about it will be the bad case of   
disorientation. We're going to meet after school at Serena's house so that we   
can do the deed."  
Mina watched as Artemis retreated into the hedge as one of her friends   
approached. She decided to join them in their offer of a game of kickball   
before the final bell.  
  
Across town at Raye's school, she sat in her class, being bored to death.   
She hated English class; did she care about how Americans spent their free time?   
She looked at the window and saw Luna trying to get her to come outside. Raye   
raised her hand.  
"Ma'am, can I go to the bathroom?" she asked politely.  
"Is it an emergency?" the teacher asked.  
"As a matter of fact, it is," Raye lied. She walked out of the room to   
the entrance, where she let Luna inside. "What's up, Luna?"  
"You remember that discussion that we had last night?" Luna said. She   
looked somber, but her voice betrayed her steady visage.  
"Yes. What did you mean by 'getting her to give us the bauble?'" Raye   
asked.  
"I've got some good news about that. We have decided to use our single   
use power, the Moon Resurrection to help your mother." Raye almost burst out   
with happiness when she heard that, but she restricted herself to hugging Luna.  
"Oh, thank you, Luna, you don't know how much this means to me."  
"Remember that we're not doing it only for you, but also to help save us."   
Raye nodded. "Good. Now, we're going to meet this afternoon in Serena's house,   
her back yard to be exact, so that we can work our magic.  
"Well, that's about it. You can go back to class now."  
"Thank you, Luna! Thank the others for me, too!" Raye said as she began   
to head back towards her class. Luna wandered out of the school, wondering if   
Raye would be able to figure out some sort of excuse to account for a woman who   
has been dead for ten years suddenly coming back to civilization.  
  
"Rigel, you've got to work fast! The Droid's back and it's changed!"   
Rigel listened as Central Control made a report of their observations. He would   
have to work fast if he was to get the Scouts to do this. They would be getting   
out of school soon, so they would be at Serena's house soon.  
"When will it get here?" Rigel asked.  
"At approximately seven o'clock," the reporter for Central said. "You   
have to get them to work now if they're going to be ready!"  
"But they won't be back to full power any time today if they do the   
Resurrection today," Rigel complained. "If we combat it at, say, half power,   
what do you think it'll do to us?"  
"Point taken, but look at it this way, would you rather have it destroying   
the city or just have the Carrier taken?"  
"We have to protect the Scouts, or else the future goes with them!"  
"Look, man, it's your job here. Just work with us."  
"All right, but how do you propose to save the Scouts from injury?"  
"They'll be all right, but if anything drastic happens, send them here.   
We'll send you a transporter unit for them." A small black box appeared in   
front of Rigel, who took it gratefully.  
"Thank you, Central. I'm out." Rigel turned the communicator unit off   
before walking away with the transporter unit in his subspace pocket.  
  
That afternoon, Serena's parents had gone out for dinner, leaving the   
house at the mercy of Serena, Raye, Rini, and Sammy. Sammy had decided to go   
out to the store, so that only left Rini to be dealt with. Luckily, she chose   
that night to insist that Serena give her the Imperium Silver Crystal. She   
began the process by approaching with a very scared-looking Luna in her hands.  
"All right, give me the Imperium Silver Crystal, or the cat gets it," Rini   
said with a glint of mischief in her eyes.  
"Rini, how many times do I have to tell you? I don't have it!" Serena   
yelled. "Now, let my cat go, you little twirp!"  
"I want the crystal!" Rini yelled.  
"She doesn't have it!" Raye yelled from the entrance of the room, where   
she had witnessed the entire scene. "Now, I want you to go away, *after*   
putting the cat down, and think about what you did." Rini had more respect for   
Raye, so she put Luna down and went to her room.  
"Wow, Raye, where did you learn to handle kids like that?" Serena asked.  
"I just use what I remember from when I was a kid. It sort of comes   
naturally."  
"Well, you are sort of the authority figure at times." At that time, the   
door bell rang. It was the others, who were ready for action. Raye got excited   
when they all walked in, she was ready to see her mother.  
"All right, everyone," Luna said. "Let's go out back." They went to the   
back yard for enough room to perform their power. After a quick check for   
eavesdroppers, Artemis told them that it was safe to transform. A moment later,   
a group of very eager Sailor Scouts stood in the middle of the yard.  
  
Rini watched from the window of her room as Serena and her friends   
transformed. She wasn't surprised. She had seen them do it before. She just   
wished that Serena would drop the act and just give her the Imperium Silver   
Crystal. She so wanted to save her mother. She needed the Silver Crystal for   
that, and Serena wouldn't give it to her. She tried to hold the tears back, but   
they wouldn't be contained. She cried to herself as she watched the Sailor   
Scouts go about their business, getting arranged for something. Something big.  
  
"All right, we're ready," Artemis said. "Say your different   
transformation calls, then Moon, you say, 'Resurrect!' as loud as you can.   
Everyone, think of Raye's mother while we do this. Okay, go!"  
"Europa Star Power!" A purple energy trail came from Europa's chest,   
stopping in the middle of the circle.  
"Venus Star Power!" An orange trail joined the purple one from Europa.  
"Jupiter Star Power!" A green trail followed the other two.  
"Mars Star Power!" A red trail.  
"Mercury Star Power!" A blue trail.  
"Moon Crystal Power! Resurrect!" A pink trail entered the pack.  
A bright flash of light came from the center, where the trails had met,   
and a large figure of light appeared in the center. The output of energy nearly   
threw the Scouts out of position, but they were able to keep their balances. If   
they had been knocked away, their labor would have been for naught.  
Soon, the figure of light began to get some matter to it. Moon had begun   
to feel the effects of the exertion. She had to fight to stand upright.  
"Hold it together, Scouts!" Moon heard Luna call from the hiding place of   
the guardians.  
"Be strong, my daughter," Moon thought that she heard the voice of Queen   
Serenity say. Mars heard the same thing from another source, the figure that   
was in the center of the circle. It was just their imagination, though.  
After a couple of minutes, the other Scouts were beginning to feel the   
effects of the activity. They didn't have much left, but it wasn't very much   
longer until the activity would be complete. Mars didn't look like faltering   
for another couple of hours.  
"Maybe we should have gotten her to do it alone," Rigel joked.  
"No, you have to have all the Scouts for it to work," Luna said. "How   
much longer does it have?"  
"Not much longer," Artemis said nervously. "I don't think that the other   
Scouts will last that long, except for Sailor Moon, maybe. It's ironic that we   
finally found something that Moon can do better, and she can only do it once."  
The figure in the center of the Scouts was almost solid, and she was well   
on her way to life. Mars had closed her eyes as the magic had begun, and she   
now opened her eyes to the sight of her mother almost back. She could hardly   
contain herself, but she knew that she would have to if she was to attain the   
goal of that night's exertions.  
The action finished, and the Scouts all slumped to the ground. All except   
for Mars, who was looking at her mother with teary eyes. She rushed over to her   
mother, who was looking around, bewildered by her surroundings. She embraced   
her mother, something that she had wanted to do for a long time.  
The woman was a little bit taller than Mars, had brown hair, about the   
shade of Lita's hair, blue eyes, and a kind look on her face. She was wearing   
the same thing that she had been wearing on the day that she had been killed.   
Her name was Jennifer Hino.  
"Excuse me, but who are you and why are you hugging me?" she asked.  
Raye looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes. "Don't you recognize   
me? I'm your daughter, Raye."  
"You can't be my daughter. My daughter was just born! You're at least fourteen."  
"Mom, I am Raye. I have some shocking news. What is the last thing that   
you remember before you were here?"  
"I was in the hospital room. I closed my eyes, and that's the last thing   
I remember. I don't know how I could have gotten here from there. Then, of   
course, I am here, so there must have been a way."  
"Well, not exactly. You died in the hospital after giving birth to me.   
We, the Sailor Scouts, have just revived you because we need your help." Mars   
finally reverted to her teenager form. Her mother saw the girls who stood in   
front of her, and her mouth dropped as wide as a frog's mouth.  
"You look like Raye, but..." She stopped for a moment to think again.   
"You are Raye, aren't you? Why did you bring me back?"  
"We need your little magic charm from you, or we're going to get our faces   
rearranged by this big monster."  
"Why are you being chased by a monster?" Jennifer asked.  
"Like I said, we're the defenders of this planet from the forces of evil,   
and they've got a big monster that can beat us. The only thing that'll save us   
is your charm."  
"Imagine, my daughter a super-heroine. What is this magic charm you're   
looking for?" Jennifer asked  
"It's the ruby necklace that you're wearing," Mars replied.  
"What, this old thing?" Jennifer said, taking off her necklace and handing   
it to Raye. Luna and Artemis came out, followed by Rigel, and they approached   
Jennifer.  
"Thank you, Miss Hino," Luna said.  
"A talking cat? Are you sure that I'm not dead?" Jennifer asked.  
"Yes. They're our friends and guardians. They brought us together and   
trained us with our powers. Since you know our secret, we'll have to make you   
swear to secrecy."  
"Of course! Anything for my little girl." Raye blushed. Two minutes   
alive, and she was already humiliating her daughter in front of her friends.   
"Is there anything else that I can do to help?"  
"Not really," Rigel said, "It's just that we needed the jewel, and you   
were the one who had it. We had to bring you back to life to get it. Now, we   
have to go! There's a Droid whose butt we've got to kick!"  
"Wait a minute! I don't even know how to use this thing!" Raye said.   
"And what about the others?"  
"You'll be fine on your own with it! That's the Mars Crystal, a special   
item that only you can use."  
"How??"  
"It's just like your regular transformation stick! Just say, 'Mars Power   
Transformation,' and you'll be Mars, but stronger."  
"Cool! Mom, can you stay here and take care of my friends while I dispose   
of this giant Juggernaut?"  
"Of course!" Jennifer said, sitting down under a tree. She couldn't wait   
to see her father and her husband.  
  
Raye and the three guardians arrived at the site of where the Droid would   
show up and sat in waiting for the portal to open. Soon, the portal started to   
appear in the middle of thin air. Raye prepared to receive her new powers.  
"Mars Power Transformation!" she called out as the Droid came out of the   
portal. She was surrounded by fire with the strength of ten times the original   
transformation. She was first dressed in her normal fuku of red and purple.   
Then, she got some gauntlets, leg guards, a breastplate, and the rest to make a   
full suit of armor. The armor was made out of steel, studded with rubies and   
red sapphires. At her side was a sword of tempered iron with a hilt of gold.   
"Whoah! I like this new transformation," Mars called to the guardians. "What   
are my new powers?"  
"Mars Explosion, Blast!" Artemis called out. Mars mimicked the call, and   
a giant explosion happened under the Juggernaut, who hadn't even noticed her   
before. He was only interested in the Carrier. It broke the wall of the   
building which contained the art exhibition and grabbed Loni Lenai. It pointed   
its finger at her, and a beam shot out of the finger. Loni disappeared in a   
second. The Juggernaut realized the danger that it was in when it felt the   
second explosion rock its outer hull. It had been blown on its back and was   
trying to get up when the third explosion rocked it.  
After that, it got seriously ticked off. It pointed its finger and shot a   
blast of ice water at Mars. Mars was able to escape the brunt of the blast, but   
she got a knick by the rubble that was sent flying when the blast broke the   
sidewalk. She was only slightly slowed down by the weight of the armor, but   
that was enough for the Juggernaut to catch her and pin her to the ground.  
"Mars! Call out, Fire Armor, Sear!" Rigel called from the place that the   
guardians had taken.  
"Fire Armor, Sear!" Mars yelled.  
The surface of the armor became as hot as molten lava, but Mars didn't   
feel a thing inside it. The Droid, however, felt it very painfully. The foot   
that it was using to hold her down was melted off by the armor's heat. In   
response, it took a shot at her with its cannon in the holster at its side. The   
shot that came out of it was a larger version of Mars' explosion attack which   
could be aimed. Mars froze in fear in front of the fireball. As the fireball   
passed over her, she felt no pain.  
"Luna, why didn't I just get burnt to a crisp?" Mars asked.  
"Your armor gives you protection from the element which it represents,"   
Luna said. "That is true for all the crystals."  
"There's other ones, then?" Mars asked.  
"Of course! Why would one planet have something that another would need   
just as badly? Each Scout has one."  
"All right!" Juggernaut took advantage of the pause in Mars' action to do   
some attacks of his own. He used his jets to fly up into the air so that he   
could get a good aim at stomping Mars flat. About halfway up, he ran out of   
energy and fell to the ground. His impact caused the ground to shake so   
violently that a couple of buildings in the vicinity fell to the ground.  
"Mars, do your finishing move, the Sword of Spirit!"  
"Sword, I lend you the power to defeat the enemy which I face now," Mars   
said, drawing the sword. She ran towards the still form of the Droid and   
plunged it into the body where she thought that the central power source would   
be. The Droid began to disintegrate almost immediately, and was gone in a   
couple of moments.  
"Mars, you did it!" Luna called out as the three guardians approached.   
"And you didn't even need the others!"  
"I would have liked to have had them here, though," Mars said. She   
decided to return to Serena's house dressed as she was. She wanted to show off   
to the others, including her mother.  
  
"DAMN!" Rubues yelled in rage. "It never fails! Those Scouts always get   
the upper hand on me whenever I'm beating them! For once, I'd like to kill   
them, but then, once would be all that I'd need. Unless, of course, they've got   
another trump up their sleeves like that resurrection power." He would need to   
work hard to get that final Carrier. He didn't know what his next move would   
be, but he knew that it would sting so badly.  
He heard the Carriers in the prisoner room yelling to get out, to be saved   
by someone. He didn't care what they did. He considered torturing them for a   
while to let some of his anger off. There was only the priest to capture last.   
Unless the Scouts interfered, which they probably would, that would be an easy   
catch.  
  
"So, what does it feel like to have a second chance at life?" Michael   
asked Jennifer as they waited for Raye to return. Everyone had woken up and   
were trying to rest up from the exertions of the afternoon.  
"I feel like singing. It almost makes me want to become religious or   
something," Jennifer responded.  
"I don't know if you'll have a choice," Lita said. "Raye lives at the   
Hikawa Shrine, or at least, she did before it was demolished."  
"Someone demolished a Shrine?" Jennifer asked. "Isn't there a law or   
something against that?"  
"Not when the Negaverse destroys it," Mina said, sitting next to Michael.   
"So, what do you want to do when we're through here?"  
"Maybe we can go to the museum or something," Michael answered.  
"I don't know if I've got the energy for that," Mina said. "Maybe rent a   
movie."  
"Yeah, then we can watch it at my place," Michael said. "My parents don't   
mind girls over, as long as they're there."  
"Wait a minute, where will Miss Hino stay if Serena's parents are already   
pushed for space?" Amy asked.  
"That's a good question. Lita, can you handle that one?" Michael asked.   
"You're the only one of us who has no parents to ask questions about it, and   
you've got plenty of room in that apartment." Michael didn't realize that what   
he had said hurt Lita's feelings, but then, she didn't show it.  
"Sure, I don't mind. Someone else's mom is really good company," Lita   
said in a tone that bordered on bitterness.  
"Good." What Lita had said hadn't registered with Michael, so he went on   
with his business. "Where do you think that Raye is? I would have thought that   
she would have been back by now with all the hype of how powerful this bauble   
is."  
"Well, she could be dead," Amy said. "The power rating of the crystal was   
only a theory, so we might have been wrong and Raye could have gotten   
massacred."  
"Hope for the best," Mina said. They heard something in the tree, and   
they looked up to see what looked like Mars in armor sitting on a tree branch,   
swinging her leg loosely.  
"Hey, you guys, how do you like the new suit?" she asked as she jumped   
from the tree.  
"Hey, now you be careful jumping out of trees like that," Jennifer   
scolded.  
"Mother, I am fully capable of taking care of myself," Mars said,   
reverting to her original form. Raye looked somehow more mature now that she   
had the crystal on.  
"Wow, Raye!" Serena mused, "I want something like what you've got!"  
"You can have one," Rigel said as he and the cats caught up with Mars.   
"We've just got to find it. All of you have one, it's just hidden somewhere   
around the world. We'll have to find them later after we've taken out these   
Droids and Rubeus."  
"Cool! You mean I've got armor like that? That looks so cool!" Serena   
exclaimed.  
"Yes, but I'd just like to remind you that it's not just for looks," Luna   
said. "Has anything that we've given you since the beginning been for looks   
only?"  
"The Luna pen," Serena said. "It changes your looks."  
"That's not the point," Luna said, slightly annoyed. "Your armor has your   
strongest powers, well, almost your strongest, but that's not the point. Raye   
just trashed that giant Droid all by herself, and she almost had fun doing it."  
Serena heard the front door of her house open and close. Her parents were   
home.  
"Uh, oh," Serena said nervously. "Everybody scatter! Raye and I promised   
that we wouldn't have friends over, and if my parents find you out here, they'll   
probably throw Raye out, and then ground me." Everybody sensed that Serena was   
telling the truth, and they hid just as Serena's parents went outside to see   
what Serena was doing.  
Everyone was able to find a convenient exit, and they went about their   
business. Mina and Michael followed out with their plan to rent a movie, and   
Lita went to get Ms. Hino set up in her apartment. Amy went home to do her   
homework. Serena and Raye both sat down to do homework, forced to do so by Mr.   
and Mrs. Tsukino. Rini had gotten her revenge on Serena while she had been   
outside by trashing her room. Serena dragged her in the room and made her clean   
it up again.  
Serena finally went to sleep at about ten o'clock that night. She had   
stayed up later than she had intended to. She would probably be late for school   
and Raye's cooking the next morning. She didn't like that idea. Much.  
She was only slightly jealous about Raye's new powers, but she thought   
that she would get over it when she finally got her own. Her final waking   
thought was of how Raye's mom would change the proceedings of the Scouts.  
  
End of Part six  
  
Coming next: The Mother's Touch  
  
Well, how'd you like it? E-mail me at: jmh6187@uncwil.edu. Only three   
more chapters to go! 


	7. A Mother's Touch

Hey, everyone! I'm back at the keyboard and working furiously on this   
project. Mostly because I'm eager to get started on my other project. I never   
start a new project unless I've finished the previous one. (Right, just keep   
thinking that, M.H.)  
But anyway, on with the speech. I don't own most of these characters, but   
the ones I do, I will let you use them if you acknowledge that I created them.   
The ones who own the characters that I don't is Naoko Takeuchi and, of course,   
many others.  
  
Shadows From the Past  
by: M. H. Torringjan  
  
Part seven: A Mother's Touch  
  
Lita awoke the next morning to the smell of food being cooked. She went   
into her kitchen and found Jennifer cooking breakfast.  
"Good morning, Lita!" Jennifer said as she noticed Lita standing   
in the doorway.  
"You didn't have to do this," Lita said.  
"Are you going to turn down home cooking?" Jennifer countered.  
"No, I was just saying that you didn't need to do that. Thank you for   
cooking." She sat down and waited for the food to be served and talked to Miss   
Hino. "So, what all are you going to do today?"  
"I don't know. If I've been dead for ten years, then I won't have a job   
or a driver's license. Would you happen to know anything about my husband?"   
Jennifer responded.  
"Raye doesn't talk about him much. All we know is that Raye isn't staying   
with him. She once said that she preferred staying with Grandpa at the Temple.   
We aren't going to pry for stuff like that."  
"Good idea. I might see him sometime."  
"Okay, how are you going to explain that you were missing for ten years   
and he saw you buried? He'll probably freak out and call the police or   
something. That would tend to be the reaction of any sane person."  
"So, I've been wondering, where are your parents?"  
Lita paused a moment. She hated remembering the accident that had killed   
her parents. "They died in a plane crash when I was younger. I've lived alone   
for a long time now."  
"I'm so sorry! I had no idea Are you okay?"  
"Yes, I'm fine," Lita responded. She held out her plate as Jennifer gave   
her some breakfast.  
"So, what Sailor Scout are you?" Jennifer asked.  
"I'm Jupiter, controller of lightning," Lita said after some bites of her   
food. She finished her food and said, "I've got to go to school now, so if you   
could excuse me..."  
"You have to go to school? You're a super-heroine. Why would you need   
school?" Jennifer asked.  
"That's the same thing that Serena wonders, but we go because no one knows   
that we're Scouts except for us, our guardians, some people who've found us out,   
and you now. We've got to keep up our guises while we're not fighting, and   
we've got to keep our secret. We don't want people to interfere with our   
adventures asking for autographs, do we?"  
"You have a point. You just run along or you'll be late." Lita followed   
her advice and rushed out of the door with her lunch at the speed of Serena on a   
late day. Jennifer sat around the apartment for about an hour before she got   
bored. She proceeded to clean up what she could to occupy her time. She then   
sat down to watch her favorite TV show. She turned on the channel that it was   
on, only to find a talk show in its place.  
She checked the TV guide to see if there was another TV slot or perhaps   
that the talk show was a special presentation. She found nothing even slightly   
resembling her show. It made sense to her. TV schedules change a lot in   
fourteen years.  
She decided to go out and do something. Maybe she would get a job or   
something. She wondered how Lita could pay for the apartment. Before going   
out, though, she would need the newspaper. She found that day's newspaper   
where Lita had laid it after picking before leaving.  
She fingered through the want ads and found a nice-sounding job at the   
place across town, the Tiara Arcade. It was new and had just opened for   
business. She went outside and got on the bus to go there. She arrived just as   
the interviews were beginning. As she walked in, she thought of the girls and   
what they would be doing.  
  
At that moment, Serena was softly crying to herself. She had spent the   
whole night before the test studying, and she had even gone over the stuff   
before the test with Michael. She felt a surge of grief pass through her when   
she received the test, which said that she had failed with a grade of fifty.  
Michael had done better, but only marginally. He had passed with a   
ninety-five. Miss Haruna had gotten on him for not getting a hundred. He   
argued back that anyone could have simple algebraic mistakes from time to time.   
She left him alone for the rest of the class.  
Amy had, of course, gotten a hundred, plus the extra credit that she had   
earned earlier on. She got a couple of jibes from Michael about that.  
"You're too smart for your own good!" Michael teased, smiling.  
"There's nothing wrong with being smart, Michael," Amy said.  
"I guess you've got me there," Michael replied.  
At lunch, they went out into the school yard to eat and chat.  
"I still think that she graded these tests wrong," Serena said bitterly.  
"Now, now, Rena," Michael said, "It's not like it's a matter of life and   
death. It's just one measly test, and we've had others. How did you do on the   
geography test?"  
"I passed it, but barely," Serena replied. "And that's because you helped   
me on it."  
"Look at it this way, a passing grade is a passing grade any way that you   
get it."  
"That's easy for you to say, Michael, you get those types of grades, even   
if you don't study. You're just like Melvin."  
"Don't say that, even in jest!" Michael exclaimed, smiling. "We consider   
ourselves geniuses, and that's fine with me. Isn't that right, Amy?"  
"Well, I wouldn't call myself a genius," Amy declined.  
"Oh, you're being modest," Michael teased. "You should be proud of your   
intelligence like you were a minute ago."  
"I was just saying that you shouldn't be ashamed that you're smart. You   
also shouldn't boast about it. No one likes a boaster."  
"You're all against me, aren't you?" Michael said, effecting   
defensiveness. The others knew that he was just acting. He had told them that   
he had been in the drama class where he had lived.  
"So, what do you think that Raye's mom is doing now?" Serena asked.  
"Considering the condition that my apartment was in before I left," said   
Lita, "She's probably cleaning it up or perhaps finding things to ask me about   
that will bring up my past."  
"Lita, did she ask you about your parents?" Amy asked.  
"Yeah, but I was able to shake her off with a simple answer. She must be   
a mind-reader, because she could tell that it hurt. I don't mind having her   
with me. It seems like she'll be good company. I just wish that we had another   
of those Moon Resurrections. We could bring back one of my parents, probably my   
mother. Oh, well, it was more important to have Raye's mother anyway."  
"Yeah," Michael said. "When do you think that the next Droid's gonna try   
to take the next Carrier?"  
"It's coming now," Rigel said from his usual hiding spot, "And it doesn't   
look pretty. Central's picking up about two hundred blips coming straight   
towards us, and they're going to arrive in about fifteen minutes. We've go to   
hurry, or the world's gonna be toast."  
"Isn't it always?" Michael asks.  
"How will we get out of school?" Serena asked.  
"We could just say that we've come down with something," Michael said.  
"Nah, it'd be too obvious if we came down with something all at the same   
time," Lita said.  
"Use the Luna pen," Amy said. "When one of us gets outside, we'll throw   
it back inside for the rest to use." Serena pulled the pen out of her subspace   
pocket and held it up high.  
"Disguise Power! Turn me into an administrator!" Serena stood there a   
moment later as a woman in a long, black dress with glasses. Her hair was loose   
and about shoulder-length. She walked to the front door of the school,   
apparently, no one noticed her, and went around to where the others would be   
waiting for the pen to come over the hedge. She lobbed it over as she was   
supposed to.  
Amy was the next to use it. She didn't have much of a chance to get out   
with her conspicuous blue hair. She thought up a clever plan to get out without   
anyone noticing her, though,  
"Disguise Power! Turn me into my mother!" When the smoke had dissipated,   
Amy's mother stood where Amy had a few moments before. She casually walked out   
of the school and went to where Serena was waiting for the rest and threw the   
pen over. Lita came next. She chose a teacher. She was wearing a suit and her   
hair out of the familiar ponytail for once.  
When it came time for Michael, he was stumped. He didn't know who he   
would choose for his disguise. He spoke too quickly and didn't know why he said   
what he said.  
"Disguise Power! Turn me into Mina!" He stood in wonder as he saw   
himself turn into Mina, red bow and all. He didn't like the thing, so he took   
it out. When the others saw him, they couldn't help but laugh at his disguise.  
"What's it feel like to be a girl?" Serena asked.  
"You should know," Michael replied. "You just keep yucking it up. You   
never saw this if Mina asks. Understood?" The others agreed reluctantly, but   
Michael suspected that they wouldn't keep the promise. He wondered how long it   
took for the magic to wear off.  
Rigel joined the three at that time. "I like the new look, Mina," he   
said. "Oh, that's you, Michael! I didn't expect you to be that crazy for   
Mina!" Everyone burst out laughing at the comment.  
"Okay, that's it!" Michael exclaimed. "I'll take all of you on! Who   
wants to die first!"  
"That's enough, Michael! We've got to go!" Rigel interjected. He led the   
way to where the portal was targeted at, hoping that they wouldn't be too late.  
  
At that moment, Jennifer Hino was coming out of her interview. It had   
lasted a long time, and she thought that the people had been interested in her.   
She really hoped that she could get the job. She would like to help Lita pay   
for the rent out of thanks. She also liked that place. The place had been   
opened because the Crown Game center had been demolished a couple of days ago.   
Actually, it had been opened for the heck of it, but the owners liked to think   
that someone had blessed them by ridding them of their competition.  
She looked around and saw a grave yard. She wondered if that was where   
she had been buried. She saw that the graveyard was empty except for a lone   
priest wandering it, waiting for any soul who might need consolation. He looked   
like the priest that Lita had described to her that was the last Carrier needed   
for the Negaverse's plans. She decided to stay with him for a while, maybe talk   
with him.  
She approached him, and he rounded to see who was there. He had a   
surprised look on his face when he found Jennifer standing there.  
"Yes, ma'am, is there something that I may help you with?" the priest   
asked.  
"No, I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk for a while. You looked   
lonely out here alone," Jennifer replied.  
"Well, I get by. I've got my Bible, and my mind, and that's all that I   
really need. I do like a good conversation every now and then. I've always   
felt uneasy in here since I had that strange encounter about a year ago. That's   
why I was surprised when I turned to you."  
"I understand completely. I had an encounter like that just the other   
night. Man, was it nasty..." she drolled on with him interjecting every once in   
a while with a statement of his own. When she had finished talking, she let him   
go on with his own story. He was incredibly boring, but she should probably   
stay with him. As they talked, the sky was getting gradually darker. As they   
talked, a group of people walked into the graveyard followed by a dog. There   
was a woman with blue hair, Mina, and two women that she didn't recognize. They   
motioned her over to them. She excused herself from the priest and went to the   
people who wanted her.  
"Jennifer, we need your help," the administrator said.  
"Excuse me, but the only one who I know from here is Mina. Is there   
something that you'd like, Mina?" Jennifer responded.  
"Jennifer," Mina said, "It's us, Serena, Amy, Michael, and Lita. We've   
just used Serena's Disguise Pen."  
"Okay, I'll bite. I've had stranger things happen to me," Jennifer said.   
"What do you need me to do?"  
"We need you to go and get Raye as quickly as is possible," Amy said. She   
gave Jennifer directions to Raye's school and told her to hurry.  
  
Jennifer was back as quickly as was possible, considering the fact that   
Raye's school was only a couple of blocks away. She had gotten Raye out of   
school by saying that she was Raye's doctor and that Raye had a special   
treatment that she needed. When they arrived, the other four Scouts were   
already transforming and ready to fight. They would need to be, if they were to   
battle a hundred, maybe more, Droids from Rubeus.  
As the Droids began coming through, Venus showed up on the scene. Raye   
had been ready for a couple of seconds and was transforming at that moment.  
"Mars Power Transformation!" Raye called out. A few short moments later,   
Mars stood there in her new armor with the sword at her side. She was ready for   
action, as were the rest of the Scouts. The first wave hit them as Mars took   
her place. She was the first to attack.  
"Mars Explosion, Blast!" The initial attack sent about twenty flying.   
They didn't even pause to help their comrades, only thinking of blood. The   
group hit the Scouts before anything else could be done. Their eyes were turned   
squarely on the priest as they tried surging past the Scouts.  
"Moon Scepter, Elimination!" Moon called out, letting her scepter take out   
large numbers of smaller troopers.  
"Mercury Ice Storm, Blast!" Ice pellets hit the Droids as they came out   
of the portal. They were unable to hide from the attack as Mercury tried   
holding fast.  
"Jupiter Thunder Dragon, Zap!" A large dragon made out of electricity   
flew from Jupiter's outstretched hand, mowing down Droids as it went.  
"Europa Earth, Drop!" Europa called out, trying to clear a path for him to   
get to the priest. Venus helped out by tying up Droids with her love chains,   
but they were too late. By the time that Europa and Venus had worked their way   
to the place where the priest had been, he was gone. They looked towards the   
portal and saw the priest being carried over the heads of the Droids to protect   
them from Mercury's Ice Storm.  
"Hey, look at it this way," Europa said after he punched a Droid out for   
coming near him, "Maybe he'll be killed by the ice, then they won't be able to   
use him."  
"Not a good idea," Venus said as she watched the bedlam around the   
cemetery. Jennifer was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully, she had gotten away with   
enough time. Mars would never have forgiven herself if she had let her mother   
die again, this time without being able to bring her back.  
A small troupe of Droids had grabbed on to Mars from the back. "You want   
a piece of the hot stuff, huh? Fire Armor, Sear!" The suit of armor lit up   
with the heat and set the Droids on her back and a couple of nearby ones on   
fire. They streaked through the crowd of Droids waiting to try the Scouts,   
cursing at the tops of their lungs. There were only about fifty left. They all   
ran a kamikaze attack at the same time.  
"Mercury Ice Storm, Blast!" Mercury called. The storm that resulted   
killed about half of the remaining Droids, but the others kept on coming.  
"Europa Earth, Drop!" Europa called as he dropped a large ball of dirt on   
the enemies. About ten were buried. The remaining droids wouldn't stop.  
"Sword, I lend you the power to deal with these enemies as you feel fit,"   
Mars said, almost chanting. The sword came out of her hands and flew towards   
the Droids. They were frozen out of fear. As they watched, the sword started   
flying around them in circles. They followed it with their eyes. After it had   
gone around them a couple of times, it slashed through the enemies, dropping   
them to the ground.  
"Good job, Mars," Europa said.  
"This isn't a time for compliments," Rigel said angrily. "We just let   
them get away with the final component for their plan. What were you all   
thinking back there? You fought pitifully! Mercury, what were you thinking,   
letting the Ice Storm go on while they were dragging our ward through it? Mars,   
what is this crap about letting loose with an explosion in the middle of a   
cemetery? Europa, why did you just stand there while they were carrying the   
priest away? Venus, what happened to that electrobolt attack? You can all do   
better than that, and you know it! I want you all to go home and think about   
what you did, or didn't do in some cases."  
While Rigel was walking away, Luna and Artemis stopped him.  
"What did you think that you were doing back there?" Luna asked.  
"I was educating them in their mistakes," Rigel returned.  
"That's so pointless. They just lost an important battle, they don't need   
criticism. We've lost before, and it's not that big a deal. You remember,   
Artemis, when we had just found out that Serena was the Moon Princess?"  
"That was a nasty one," Artemis replied.  
"Anyway, you don't need to do that sort of stuff to them after this   
happens. We almost lost Serena that way. We don't need that to happen again.   
When this happens, you have to encourage them, make them feel better about   
themselves."  
"That's what you think," Rigel interrupted. "We can't afford mistakes   
like they made in our business. We have to keep them from doing that again.   
Well, there might not be a next time now that they've got the Super Shadow   
Warrior. We'll have to be on our highest guard from now on."  
"Well, at least we agree on one thing," Artemis said coolly. "Friggin'   
dog," he thought to himself.  
  
"Man, Rigel really let us have it," Michael said. He and Mina had   
starting walking home after Rigel had finished ranting. "There's only one other   
time that I can remember him doing that, and that was when I dropped some earth   
on a small building by accident. The place had to be evacuated by crews working   
around the clock on digging the door out."  
"Was that when you were first learning?" Mina asked.  
"No. I had had my powers for about a year then. He was fussing at me   
that I," he switched to his Rigel impression, "shouldn't be making those sorts   
of mistakes with the experience that I had." Mina laughed at the voice. It did   
sound like the dog's voice and something that he would say. "He said that if   
you're afraid enough, you'll want to prevent it from happening again, so you   
won't do the deed again."  
"He's right. I sure don't want to make him mad again," Mina agreed.   
"Anyway, what do you want to do now?"  
"I don't know. Why don't we go and do something outside?" Michael said.  
"Okay, I'm game. How about tennis?"  
"Sounds good to me. Let's stop off at my place and get my racket."  
"Don't forget about me. I need one, too. I might have one at home that I   
can still use. It's been a while since I've played the game. I might need a   
refresher," Mina said.  
"I can help you review your strokes and the rules."  
Artemis caught up with them without Rigel. Mina wasn't surprised. They   
didn't like each other as much as their owners liked each other.  
"Where are we going?" Artemis asked.  
"To play some tennis," Michael answered. "If you want to watch us, you're   
welcome to it."  
"No, I think that I'm just going home to take a nap. I've missed it so   
far today, and I don't want it to give me a miss altogether."  
"Okay, see ya'!" Mina said as the two groups parted ways.  
  
Raye and Serena were walking home after their defeat at the hands of their   
own guardian. Their egos had taken a beating, but they were able to go with   
what they had left.  
"You know, he's wrong," Serena said after they had walked along for a   
while in silence.  
"About what?" Raye asked.  
"About how we fought today," Serena clarified. "We did just fine,   
considering the odds. Winning a battle of two-hundred to six is pretty darn   
hard."  
"You're right, it's just that for some part, he's right. I've got to be   
more careful with those explosions."  
"Oh, you're being too hard on yourself. That explosion was at least fifty   
feet away from us all."  
"But, it was still close enough to harm us. I've got to be trained in   
these new powers, or I'll hurt someone."  
"You won't hurt anyone, especially not us. Besides that, these Nega-  
creeps are getting bad, and they'll hurt us if you don't help us out. You did   
just fine with your new attacks, and that's that. I'm saying this as Sailor   
Moon, not Serena. You've got to be realistic about this."  
"You mean like you usually aren't?"  
"Look, did I insult you?"  
"No, I'm sorry. We'll talk about this later, after we get through today   
with school."  
"Uuum... Raye, we're finished with school for the day. It's four   
o'clock." Raye looked at the nearest clock and saw that Serena was right.   
School had been let out for the day. She must have lost track of the time with   
the fighting. Luna caught up to the two girls as they began to head for home.   
Raye wished that she would find some way to rebuild the Temple. She liked   
living with Serena and all, but she missed her real home. She wondered how Chad   
was doing at finding a new place and a job. She sort of missed him, too.  
  
Amy walked home, feeling very dejected and lonely. She wanted to have   
someone to walk home with, but she knew that it was impossible. She lived so far   
from anyone of the other Scouts. She also wished that she had done better in   
that battle. Everything that Rigel had said was right, especially what he had   
said about her. She should have been paying more attention to what was under   
the storm instead of the storm itself.  
She just wanted to go home and do what little homework she had for the   
day. She hadn't wanted to leave early, but she was needed. The way that Rigel   
had gone on, you'd think that they would have been better off without her. It   
sure would have given him other things to fuss about to the other Scouts.  
She missed Greg. He should be there with her so that she could apologize   
for what she and Lita had done to him while they were under the evil influence.   
That was, of course, impossible. She went into her house and into her room for   
the rest of the night.  
  
Lita walked off in the direction of her apartment building. When she got   
outside of the graveyard, she found Jennifer. Jennifer had gone to get a safe   
seat for the show. They were ready to go home and relax for the rest of the   
day. On the way, Jennifer delivered a shock to Lita.  
"Lita, I went out and interviewed for a job," she said.  
"Why?" Lita asked.  
"I wanted something to do during the day. I get bored when you're not   
around to talk to," Jennifer said.  
"That's understandable," Lita agreed. "I get bored when I'm alone, too.   
Where did you interview at?"  
"The Tiara Game center over across town. It's just opening, and it needed   
to fill some spots. I met some of those already working there, and they seemed   
really amiable."  
"Do you know any of them?" Lita asked curiously.  
"There was one named Andrew there, and one named Chad."  
"Chad and Andrew? Working at the same place as you? Cool! Raye'll be so   
excited to find out. Let's go home."  
They went back to their apartment, where Lita cooked some dinner for the   
two of them before they went to bed.  
  
Darien woke up in a sweat. The dreams had come back to him again, only   
changed this time. There was a character standing in the background, laughing.   
It looked like Rubeus, but a bit older. He saw Rini in the background, crying   
for her mother. There were the Sailor Scouts, including the newest member of   
the team, standing in a corner, battling a host of creatures. The voice said   
that he had failed all of the Scouts and all those related to them, and that he   
should stay away from them.  
In his dream, he told the voice to shut up, and it did. The dream even   
went back to the usual, Serena being blown up by some force. He knew then that   
the dreams meant something, well, some of them at least. He went back to sleep,   
after getting a small snack of an orange, and dreamt of more pleasant things.  
  
End of part seven  
  
Coming soon: The Final Showdown  
  
I'm almost finished with this story. I like getting comments and   
critiques, so E-mail me at: jmh6187@uncwil.edu. I'll take any type of stuff   
that you send me (praise, flames, suggestions, or if you just want to chat). 


	8. The Final Showdown

Hello, all! It's me again! (I can hear the people running screaming from   
the room now) Anyway, I'm writing about characters which aren't completely   
mine. Some are, but the rest are owned by Naoko Takeuchi and others, who are   
too countless to name.  
I'm almost finished with this story, you can get off the edges of your   
seats now. I've been told that at some times I romanticize too much and at   
other times not enough. I hope that you all can forgive this considering that   
this is the first time that I've released my stuff on a wide band. Now, I'll   
get on with it. I've also been considering writing it so that I have to   
lengthen it out to one more part. This would only be used if the need arises,   
so don't get your hopes up.  
  
Shadows From the Past  
By: M. H. Torringjan  
  
Part Eight: The Final Showdown  
  
Rubeus looked up from his work. He had been preparing the subjects for   
the transformation into the Super Shadow Warrior. His plan would have to take   
place soon. The Scouts were wising up to him, and they'd probably do everything   
in their power to stop him. With that new and improved Mars, they might not   
have much of a problem, too. He really hoped that they would.  
As Rubeus began to mutter a spell, a servant Droid knocked on the door.  
"Yes?" Rubeus said.  
"We have someone here to see you," the Droid said mechanically. He threw   
one of the Carriers in, the one called Greg. Greg looked brave, but Rubeus   
could sense the fear in the back of his mind.  
"I'd like to offer you an agreement. You let us go, and the Scouts won't   
kill you. I have seen the future and what it holds for us all. If you let us   
go, I'll probably be able to convince the Scouts to not kill you," the   
spokesperson said. In the back of his mind, he thought the phrase, "As if I'd   
need to."  
"So, you think that begging and plea bargaining will get you out of   
dying?" Rubeus said with a maniacal grin on his face. He directed a small flow   
of dark energy towards Greg, sending it through his body in the form of pain.   
Greg screamed out in a display of how dominant Rubeus was over the boy's mind   
and body. Rubeus laughed as the servant Droid returned and removed the   
quivering pile of flesh and bones that was Greg.  
"Hmph! The thought of me bargaining with my own prisoners," Rubeus   
grumbled as he turned back to his desk. There was another knock at the door,   
and a sentry Droid entered.  
"Master, we destroyed a probe a couple of minutes ago. It was demolished   
before it could send its information back," the sentry said.  
"Good. Notify me if another one begins heading this way. I have a plan."  
  
Michael awoke early, before Rigel. That was an odd occurrence,   
considering the fact that Rigel usually woke him up. He reached over and shook   
the dog to wake him up. Rigel just mumbled something about the darned cats and   
turned over for some more shut eye.  
Michael decided to follow the old adage and let Rigel lie. He went down   
stairs and went into the kitchen for some breakfast. His parents weren't out of   
their room yet (but they must have been at some point, because his lunch was   
already fixed), so he just got a bowl of cereal. He went back into his room and   
turned his music on. It didn't wake Rigel up because he wasn't in the room   
anymore. Michael took this to his advantage and did some things that Rigel   
never gave him a chance to do any these days. He sat down at his computer and   
began writing a story.  
He mostly liked reading these days, but Ms. Haruna didn't like him doing   
it. Where he had lived, his Math teacher had let him read whenever he had   
wanted, as long as he got good grades on the tests. He spent most of his time   
at his computer playing games and listening to his music when he was at home.   
He hadn't watched as much TV since they had cancelled his favorite show.  
He put on his new uniform and felt like retching. He didn't like this   
feature of Japanese culture. He couldn't hardly use his cool clothes with this   
crap. Maybe it would help if he got out more. He probably would be doing just   
that now that he had met Mina and the rest. They really were the only things   
that he liked about his new home.  
He missed his old friends sometimes, the ones from his old school.   
Especially Eustace, a hot-tempered, drug-adict friend of his with a speech   
impediment, Kirstey, the former member of his "group", and Mikey, the slow-  
tempered, quick-witted one of the group. He wouldn't miss, though, the rest of   
the people of the bus. He wished that he had been old enough to own a car.   
Well, to drive it, at least.  
He would miss Bob, his friend from Boy Scouts, and Angie, a girl whom he   
had had a crush on after he had broken up with his first girlfriend. But, that   
was all behind him now. He had other priorities now; Scout priorities. It was   
tough having to deal with those priorities while maintaining a normal life. He   
wished that he could tell his parents so that he could just have done with it.  
As he listened to the radio, the DJ called out a contest with the prize   
being a couple of passes to a music concert of a band that both Michael and Mina   
liked. Luckily, the questions were of a subject which he knew very well, the   
Sailor Scouts. He called up the number and was the eighth caller.  
"Can you tell me the color of the bow that is always seen in Sailor   
Venus's hair?" the DJ asked him. Michael answered red. Mina always wore that   
bow, but it got on his nerves. "What Scout has the bubble attack?" Michael   
answered Mercury. Two questions down, three to go. "Who is the newest Scout?"   
He answered Europa. "What new item does one Scout have which was used in   
battling a monster the other night?" He answered that Mars had a new suit of   
armor. "All right, for the final question, what is the name of the caped figure   
who comes to get the Scouts out of a jam from time to time?" Michael paused for   
a moment. He hadn't met this person before.  
"Tuxedo Mask," Rigel said from the door. Michael relayed the answer to   
the DJ and was given the prize. The tickets would be delivered later that day   
to his parents. "What are you thinking? Do you have time to go to that   
concert?" He hadn't known what Michael was on the radio for.  
"I think so, Rigel. It's not like you won't be able to reach me or   
anything. You know where that place is, or at least the others do. If anything   
comes up, you can just call Mina on the communicator."  
"Michael, I've been very disappointed with you of late. Before we moved,   
you would do what I said like you're supposed to. Now, you have done nothing   
but spite me. You are to fall in line now! It might help if I was to ban you   
from going to that concert."  
"No, Rigel, it will not! I am very capable of taking care of myself and   
my Sailor business, and I am going to that concert! That's that! No more   
discussion, so there!"  
Michael stormed out of his room to get his books and his lunch. He   
slammed the door on his way out and walked down the street, grumbling to himself   
as he went. On his way, he stopped at a sports store. Mina's birthday was   
soon, and he would have to buy her something nice. It was a small store, with   
not much of a selection. He decided to come back when he had some money. Even   
better, he would bring Mina there to let her pick out her own gift.  
He got to school with five or so minutes until the final bell rang, so he   
went around to try and find Serena and Amy. They would probably be together if   
Serena was actually on time today. He doubted that it was the case, though. He   
just went to sit down and do some reading until the bell rang.  
He didn't feel like taking a test in geography, but he had to. If he   
didn't, he would get a bad grade. That would not be cool, he thought to   
himself. He wondered what his mother had fixed for his lunch, and he peeked in   
his bag. There was a tuna salad sandwich and some chips with a couple of   
cookies for dessert. Not exactly the most nutritious meal, but it tasted so   
good. He just hoped that Serena wouldn't ask for some.  
  
The phone at Lita's apartment rang and Jennifer answered it. It was the   
arcade, and they wanted her to go to work that day. Good, she thought,   
something to do.  
She hung the phone up and got ready to go out. She had been looking   
forward to working with Chad and Andrew since she had met them the other day.   
The arcade was nice, too. Raye would probably have liked the job herself.   
Jennifer walked out the door, locking it behind her and leaving a note for Lita.  
She arrived at the Arcade after a long bus ride and a short walk from the   
bus stop. Andrew and Chad welcomed her into the place as though she was family,   
which made her job more enjoyable. Of course, her workplace being an arcade,   
all she had to do was hand out prizes, tokens, and make sure that no one got out   
of order. Andrew had worked at the Crown Game Center before it had been trashed   
a couple of days before. He had gotten fired by his own relatives and was   
forced to go to the Tiara center.  
The day passed slowly, as it always did, with only one or two fights   
taking place in front of the change machine and the claw game. Andrew had   
handled them, showing the two trainees, neither of who had worked at an arcade   
before, how to handle that situation.  
She was talking with Andrew at lunch time, and he somehow deduced that she   
knew the Sailor Scouts.  
"Don't worry," he told her after noticing her nervousness. "I know who   
they are, too. Lita told me not to tell anyone. Like I said, I worked at the   
Crown Game Center, and that's where I found out."  
"Oh, that's nice!" Jennifer said. "I'm Raye's mother, and I found out   
just recently, too."  
"I thought that I heard once from Raye that her mother was dead," Andrew   
said.  
"Well, I'm here, so you must have heard wrong. Now, get over it and let's   
get back to work." She thought that she heard Andrew mutter something about   
knowing where Raye got her attitude from while they clocked back in.  
  
Serena sat eating her lunch when she saw Rigel sitting in the brush where   
he usually was at about that time. The thing about it was that he usually had   
bad news when he was there. She walked over to him to make sure that he wasn't   
being Mister Bringer of Bad Tidings.  
"Serena, why are you coming over here?" Rigel asked.  
"I just want to check in with you," Serena answered. "Make sure that   
nothing's wrong."  
"Nothing's wrong with me. I'm just here to make sure that nothing goes   
wrong with you all."  
"I think that we can take care of ourselves without you watching over us.   
Luna never did it, and we were fine. Why don't you just go off and do whatever   
it is that dogs do when their owners aren't around."  
Rigel grudgingly complied, grumbling something the whole way that he went   
about Michael and his friggin' individuality complex that had shown itself that   
morning. Serena wondered what he was on about, so she went to see if Michael   
knew.  
"Michael, is there something wrong with Rigel? He went off in a bad   
mood," Serena said.  
"Well, not much. We just got into a fight this morning when I won a   
contest on the radio for free concert tickets," Michael replied.  
"I heard that on the radio. I was laughing about it all the way to   
school. Imagine, the coincidence that someone would use us in their trivia   
questions."  
"Yeah, well, he said that I didn't have enough time to go to the concert,   
and I yelled at him because I just wanted to go. I was going to take Mina to   
it."  
"When is it?" Lita asked.  
"It's tomorrow night."  
"Are you sure, though that we won't have any action?"  
"You can call Mina's communicator. By the way, I still want one of   
those."  
"If you're going to be doing this sort of thing often, then it might be a   
good idea to give you one soon," Amy said.  
"But anyway, let's talk about something more interesting. How do you   
think that you did on the geography test?"  
"I think that I did well on it, except for the fact that I didn't study,"   
Amy said.  
"You didn't study? Were you sick last night or something?" Michael asked   
with a laugh.  
"No, I just didn't have the time to."  
"I didn't do too well," Serena interjected.  
"Yeah, and did you study?" Lita asked.  
"I got a little in, but I mostly couldn't because Rini and Sammy kept on   
bothering me. I ended up literally tossing them out of my room."  
"I studied, even after my tennis game with Mina," Michael said. "I just   
got to bed at about midnight. That's another thing that ticked Rigel off at me.   
That I wasn't budgeting my time efficiently enough. I was doing fine, though, I   
thought. As long as I get everything done that I had to."  
"Amen to that," Lita said. "I'm the same way. I had things to do last   
night, and I was up late doing them. I was hardly able to stay up during   
class." She yawned demonstratively. As she looked around, she came face to   
face with Melvin. He was there to talk to Michael.  
"Hey, Mike, how did you do on the test?"  
"I think that I did fine," Michael replied.  
"Yeah, I did well, but I wasn't doing as well as usual. But that's not   
why I came over. I was wondering if you would help me study for the next   
algebra test." His words sounded forced.  
"Wait, YOU? Asking ME to be YOUR tutor? Oh, this is rich! Everyone,   
this has been declared a national holiday! Melvin needs a tutor!" He thought   
that he heard a couple of rogue laughs from the surrounding classmates. He   
always drew attention when he started acting (up).  
"You know, Michael, you don't have to rub it in. It's my parents' idea.   
I don't want a tutor, but my parents say that I've been performing below their   
standards in school of late."  
"Sorry, I get carried away with myself at times. Sure, I'll be your   
TUTOR. When do you want the first session to be?"  
"How about tomorrow night?" Melvin whispered, as if he didn't want anyone   
else to know that he was being tutored.  
"Sorry, Mel, but tomorrow's not good for me. I've got some concert   
tickets that I intend to use with my girlfriend."  
"How about tonight, then?" Melvin suggested.  
"Let me check with my secretary. Lita, do I have anything planned for   
tonight?"  
"How should I know?" Lita asked. "I'm not your secretary, either."  
"I was kidding. I can handle tonight. How does five sound?"  
"Sounds good to me," Melvin said. He walked off in the direction that he   
had come.  
"That boy's too self-conscious. He needs to lighten up." They continued   
talking amongst themselves, until Ms. Haruna called the class in to the   
classroom.  
  
"Central, come in!" Luna said as she, Artemis, and Rigel sat in the   
communicator room, waiting for an update on the situation. A reply came a   
couple of moments after Luna sent the request.  
"We're here, Luna. We've been sending probes out all day long, and only   
one was able to send back information, and that was a couple of minutes ago.   
The Super Shadow's coming your way, and will be there in approximately five   
hours. You've got to have the Scouts at the remains of the Temple at that time.   
We think that you'll be able to go into the portal before it closes and get to   
Rubeus's base."  
"What about the Droids? With those odds, we'll be toast within ten   
seconds after we get there."  
"We've found a way for you to get in without being noticed by the guards.   
It'll take skill, though."  
"Well, that leaves Serena out of the strike force," Rigel said. He   
quieted down after receiving a nasty look from the other two.  
"No, Rigel, all of you will be required, even Tuxedo Mask," the reporter   
said.  
"Who is this Tuxedo Mask, anyway?" Rigel asked. "I've heard of him, but   
I've never met him. Sure, he's the one who always helps you guys out of jams,   
but where has he been in the past couple of days?"  
"We haven't been in any jams, as such, now have we?" Luna said. "We'll   
get him there on time."  
"Good, now, on the subject of the Planet Crystals, that is your next   
mission after finishing off Rubeus. We'll need those, because they'll give you   
that final boost that you need to complete your mission, or defeating the   
Negaverse for all time."  
"Yes, well, I for one think that the Scouts are ready for it!" Luna said.   
"They've come a long way from when they first met. Serena doesn't whine as   
much, Raye doesn't fight with Serena as much..."  
"And yet, Lita still sees every guy as her old boyfriend," Rigel said.  
"Look, if you're not going to contribute anything to this meeting, then   
go away," Artemis sighed.  
"I'll hush," Rigel said. "It's just that these Scouts are nothing like   
what they're supposed to be like."  
"And what are they 'supposed to be like?'" Luna asked.  
"They're supposed to be more dedicated to being a Scout than shopping or   
boys. They're supposed to get along with each other. They're supposed to be   
the bravest beings in the solar system, if not the universe."  
"You haven't been with them long enough to know them inside and out," Luna   
said. "They're everything that you just described, it's just that they   
sometimes don't show it. They can do anything that you tell them to, and then   
some."  
"I give up," Rigel said, storming out of the communicator room.  
"He just doesn't get it."  
"Stupid dog," Artemis grumbled as he turned back to the screen. "Central,   
is that all?" Artemis asked.  
"That's it for now," the reporter said. Artemis turned the communicator   
off as he and Luna went off in search of Rigel. They would have to set that dog   
straight. On second thought, it could wait until they had finished their   
mission.  
Behind them, they heard a loud barking sound. They turned and came face   
to face with a rapidly-advancing pack of dogs, led by Rigel. The instant that   
they saw that the dogs weren't there to retrieve a stick that had been thrown,   
they ran for the nearest tree. They got up it just in time to avoid being   
ripped in half by a blood-thirsty dog.  
"Rigel, what are you doing?" Luna called down as the dogs began barking up   
the tree at them.  
"I'm showing you who's really in charge of the Guardians. You two aren't   
coming down until you say that I'm in charge!" the enraged Rigel called up after   
them. Luna barely heard what he had said over the racket caused by the other   
dogs. Artemis hadn't caught a word that the dog had said, and Luna explained it   
to him.  
"We're gonna be up here for a while," Artemis said. "There's not any real   
leader of the Guardians, and he wants to be it. Any plans to get out of here?"  
"Sorry, but there's not anywhere that we can jump to from any of the   
limbs, so we're gonna be up here for a while," Luna replied nervously.  
"So, does that give you any ideas?" Artemis asked wryly.  
"Only ones that that involve getting out of here and getting to the   
Scouts," Luna replied coldly. "Let's try this," Luna said. "We both jump down   
at the same time as far away as we can, then we make a run for it. If we're   
lucky, then the dogs'll start chasing one of us, and the other can go to the   
school to catch the Scouts when they come out."  
"But this is just in theory," Artemis surmised. Luna nodded   
acknowledgement. "It's the best idea I've heard to get us out of here."  
"It's the only one that you've heard," Luna said skeptically.  
"Details, details," Artemis droned. "Let's do it."  
Luna moved to the other side of the tree, where she would jump off at.   
Artemis moved to the left side of the tree. "On three," Luna said nervously.   
"1, 2..." She paused.  
"Well?!" Artemis yelled impatiently.  
"I don't want to do it."  
"Shut up and jump!" Artemis yelled, leaping from the protective limbs of   
the tree. When he landed, he risked a look back. He saw that he had been the   
only one to jump from the tree.  
"Thank you for sacrificing yourself for the good of our mission," Luna   
yelled as the dogs started following Artemis. Luna jumped out as had been   
planned and began running towards the Scouts' schools.  
"What in the...?!" Artemis yelled as he began running from the mob of   
bloodthirsty dogs. "Rigel! Can't we talk this over like civilized beings?!"  
"What's to talk over? We're gonna pulverize you!" Rigel yelled back.   
Artemis would have to find a better tree to climb up soon, or he would be cat-  
sausage. After he got away, Luna would pay for this.  
  
At Serena's school, The group was waiting tentatively while the clock   
ticked its last few minutes away. She was hoping that Haruna wouldn't assign   
homework for that night. She never did after the bell rang. Serena would have   
a free night if she didn't have any homework. She needed some time to relax   
because she hadn't had a good rest in about a week.  
"And your homework for tonight..." Haruna said as Serena thought about   
what she would do that night.  
"Nuts!" Serena sighed upon hearing Haruna assign homeowrk.  
"Is there something wrong, Serena?" Haruna asked. She had heard Serena's   
expression of despair.  
"Oh! No, nothing Miss Haruna," Serena said sheepishly. "Man, I don't   
think that I can take much more of this," Serena thought to herself. "Well, as   
long as we don't have to fight any Nega-monsters..."  
She looked out the window, longing for the outside world. The classroom   
was getting constricting, and Serena was getting energy pent up in her. Michael   
was getting the same thing for the exact opposite reason. He wanted to fight   
something. Either that or go out on a date with Mina. He would get the latter   
the next night, so he figured that he would stick with fighting a monster or   
stopping a crime, something. He got such a power rush when he used his powers.  
The bell rang, and Michael and Serena were the first ones out the door.   
When they got outside, Luna was waiting for them.  
"Hey, Luna! What's up?" Serena asked.  
"There's big trouble," Luna replied urgently. "The Super Shadow is coming   
our way, and we've got to hurry. Where are the others?"  
"They'll be out in a minute," Michael said. "Hey, where's Artemis and   
Rigel?"  
"They're busy," Luna said.  
  
At that minute, Rigel was catching up to Artemis. By that time, the other   
dogs had tired of the chase and lost interest. Artemis had taken a wrong turn   
and was trapped in a blind alleyway.  
"Now, cat," Rigel said ominously, "Are you going to turn control over to   
me, or do I have to get mean?"  
"Look, dog, we Guardians don't have a leader, we just do what Serena or   
Central Control tells them to so that we can complete our mission." As Artemis   
tried to reason with Rigel, the dog lunged for the cat. Artemis jumped over   
his head, barely missing the jaws of the dog. He made a run for the street and   
was followed closely by Rigel. He turned a corner and saw Darien walking down   
the street. He ran to Darien, hoping that Darien could provide some protection   
from the dog.  
As he ran, he tried to get Darien's attention. "Darien!" yelled Artemis.   
They and Rigel were the only ones on the street at the time. Darien looked as   
Artemis ran up to him and made a jump for his arms. Darien caught the cat and   
looked at him.  
"What's wrong with you, Artemis?" he asked.  
"That brute of a dog is chasing me," Artmeis responded. "You might not   
know him. He's our new Guardian pet, Rigel. Just calm him down so that we can   
get to Raye's school."  
As the dog came closer, Darien held out a foot to try and stop him. The   
dog wasn't able to stop in time and ran into Darien's foot.  
"Good one, Darien. Way to calm him down," Artemis said sarcastically.  
"Sorry, but at least he's not attacking you," Darien replied.  
Rigel shook off the blow and looked up at Darien and Artemis's lofty   
perch. He wanted to know why the cat was talking to the human.  
"Who's this shmuck?" Rigel asked.  
"Darien, a.k.a. Tuxedo Mask," Darien answered. "And I assume that you're   
Rigel."  
"Didn't your little kitty friend tell you that?" Rigel said. "Look, we   
need you for this big mission that could turn the tide of the whole War with the   
Negaverse, so if you wouldn't mind, come with us." Rigel paused. "And I don't   
suppose you'd consider dropping the cat, would you?" Darien shook his head.  
Darien followed the dog to Raye's school, where she was just getting out   
for the day. They greeted each other and Artemis told her of the situation.  
"Yeah! We're finally gonna take out Rubeus!" Raye said, excited. "Where   
do we have to go?"  
"The Super Shadow's coming out at the Temple. We're going to take it out   
and then go through its portal so that we can get to the base. It'll be a tough   
battle, but we think that you can all do it. Well, most of us do anyway,"   
Artemis said, shooting Rigel a nasty look. Rigel stuck his tongue out at   
Artemis.  
They left to go to Mina's house, where she would be by then. Artemis knew   
that she would be sympathetic for him about the little incident with Rigel,   
unless her feelings about his owner clouded her mind about the dog.  
  
"What's up, Luna?" Amy and Lita said as they got outside the school,   
noticing the cat sitting there with Serena and Michael.  
"We've got to hurry to the Temple. The Super Shadow's going to strike   
now, and we're going to stop it. This'll give us an opening on Rubeus's base,   
so we're going to take it."  
"The base? But what about the droids?" Amy asked.  
"They will be taken care of, or at least that's what we've been told,"   
Luna said. "We've got to go now, or we'll be too late."  
They rushed off in the direction of the Temple, hoping that they would be   
able to get there in time.  
  
"Mina!" Artemis called as he entered his owner's room. She was in the   
middle of doing her homework.  
"What's up, Artemis? Is there trouble?" Mina asked.  
"Nothing gets past you," Artemis said. "We've got to get to the Temple   
NOW." Artemis went on to explain their plan and how they intended to pull it   
off. "We've got to hurry. If your clock's right, then we've only got about   
fifteen minutes." They ran outside to where Darien, Raye, and Rigel awaited   
their return, and the whole group rushed down the street at top speed.  
The sky was already beginning to get darker, as if it knew what was about   
to happen, and everything was quieting down, including the traffic. By the time   
that they got to the Temple, the others were there and a small black point had   
appeared in mid-air where the Shadow Warrior would emerge to give the city a   
taste of its power. The world was silent, calmly awaiting its fate.  
"Scouts, transform!" Luna commanded as the portal widened.  
"Mercury Power!"  
"Jupiter Power!"  
"Venus Power!"  
"Europa Power!"  
"Mars Power Transformation!"  
"Moon Crystal Power!"  
The Scouts stood and watched as Darien donned his cape, tux, and mask in   
preparation for the coming battle. He smelled a rose to pass the time waiting   
for the Shadow Warrior. Moon stood by him in anticipation. She wished that he   
hadn't broken up with her for so many reasons, being able to work together being   
one. It pained her so to have to love him from a distance.  
Then, the portal was large enough to let the Shadow Warrior through. At   
first sight, it was like nothing that the Scouts had ever seen. It was as tall   
as the Juggernaut, had large ears, was wearing a blue shirt and red pants, and   
looked like what Serena remembered the creatures from the movie "Gremlins"   
looked like. It took one look around the battle field and ran straight for the   
Scouts.  
"I've got the first lick in," Mars called out. "Mars Explosion, Blast!"   
The resulting explosion threw the Shadow Warrior to the ground on top of what   
had been the Sacred Fire Room in the Temple.  
"I'm next," Europa said. "Europa Earth, Drop!" A ball of earth fell on   
the grounded creature, pinning it momentarily. It just pushed the earth off of   
it and pointed a finger at the Scouts. From that finger shot a series of energy   
blasts that could rival Jupiter's best on a good day. The Scouts were knocked   
backwards and only stopped when they hit something stationary.  
"Europa, that didn't seem like a good idea," Venus said. Before anyone   
could do anything else, the creature picked up a large boulder from Europa's   
attacks and threw it at the Scouts. Europa waved his hand, and it disappeared   
before it hit anyone.  
This didn't seem to make the monster very happy, so it ran full tilt, with   
all intentions of crushing the Scouts. Mars tried to defend them, but was   
knocked out of its way. Its main target was Moon, who was knocked out of the   
way at the last instant by Tuxedo Mask. It was instead him who was put under   
the giant foot of the monster. When the monster realized that it had the wrong   
one under its foot, it moved its foot to go for Moon again. Tuxedo Mask wasn't   
badly hurt, but he needed a short break. Rigel took out the black transporter   
box which had been given to him by Central Command and used it. Tuxedo Mask   
disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
"Sailor Moon!" Luna called out. "Use your healing power!"  
"Moon Crystal Healing, Activation!" Sailor Moon called out, her brooch   
opening to reveal the Imperium Silver Crystal. The force hit the creature, but   
did nothing to it. "It's too strong!" Moon yelled back to her feline friend.  
"Europa, some help there!" Rigel suggested. Europa grabbed onto Moon's   
shoulders.  
"Try it again," Europa suggested to Moon.  
"What difference will it make?" Moon asked.  
"I'll give you a power boost, and we can combine our powers to heal more."  
"Moon Crystal Healing, Activation!" The force hit the creature, and this   
time, an arm fell off. Before it hit the ground, it turned into an unconscious   
Loni Lenai. Mercury rushed over to get her away from the fray.  
"Gross!" Moon exclaimed as she saw the arm fall off.  
"It comes apart at the seams!" Artemis exclaimed. "Keep bashing away at   
it!"  
"Jupiter Thunder Dragon, Zap!" Jupiter said, letting loose with an   
electric dragon that hit the monster, sending it falling towards the ground.  
"Do it again, Moon!" Venus yelled.  
"Moon Crystal Healing, Activation!" Europa gave her a power boost, and the   
other arm fell off. When it hit the ground, it became Hercules the cat. Moon   
did it one more time, and the right leg came off, turning into the priest. Moon   
was too tired to heal any more at that moment, and the others took up with the   
efforts.  
"Venus Electrobolts, Slam!" Venus yelled, attacking with her electricity   
attack. The creature was stunned for a moment as it recovered. It was hopping   
around on one leg now, and every time it jumped, it sent a tremor through the   
ground.  
"Venus! Jupiter!" Artemis said, summoning them. "You two use your dual   
attack, the Super Shocker."  
"Super Shocker!" the two Scouts exclaimed at the same time as their two   
electric attacks combined to form a large ball of energy which flew towards the   
large creature. The creature stood as the wave of pure electricity washed over   
it. It had adapted to the attacks and was only pausing momentarily.  
"Quick, Moon! You've got to do something!" Mercury called out. Venus and   
Jupiter had been sapped of their energy and were skulking off the battlefield   
for a short rest. Sailor Moon took out the Moon Scepter and looked at it. She   
couldn't use it on the Shadow, or it would kill the Crystal Carriers. She would   
just have to do some more healing, then.  
"Moon Crystal Healing Activation!" When the force hit the creature, the   
second leg fell off and reverted to Game Machine Joe. Europa rushed to get him   
off the battlefield as Sailor Moon prepared to do another healing. She hoped   
that she would be able to carry on like that for three more healings. As if he   
sensed her need for help, Tuxedo Mask reappeared and was at her side, offering   
her his hand. Moon felt her heart leap as she thought that it might be him returning to her.  
"This doesn't mean anything," Tuxedo Mask said. Serena's heart sunk at   
those words. "It's just for purely professional reasons. Use the attack   
again."  
"Moon Crystal Healing Activation!" This time, the lower torso fell off,   
changing into Grandpa. Moon felt as if the energy required for the attack   
hadn't been taken from her. When Tuxedo Mask staggered slightly, she realized   
that it had been taken from him. She did it one more time, leaving only the   
head, Grandpa, and Andrew's girlfriend on the battlefield. Tuxedo Mask ran as   
fast as he could in his weakened condition to help the two out of the way of the   
battle.  
"Luna, we need some help out here!" Sailor Moon called to her friends in   
their hiding places. All three guardians came out of the bushes where they had   
been hiding and their crescent moons started to glow. A white light filled the   
battlefield, refreshing everyone and injuring the head, which was obviously   
Greg.  
"Thanks, Luna!" Venus said as she and the other Scouts rejoined the   
battle. "We've got one final thing to heal! Take it, Moon!"  
"Moon Crystal Healing Activation!" The head was hit by the healing power   
and was knocked to the ground, where it stayed for a couple of moments before   
exploding and sending Greg flying through the air. Greg landed against the side   
of a building, where he hit and fell to the ground, unconscious. Mercury rushed   
over to him and turned her visor on to check him to be sure of his health. His   
skull had a major lump on it, but nothing that couldn't be healed with time.  
"Mercury! We've got to go!" Luna exclaimed as the others prepared to go   
through the portal to Rubeus's base. Mercury decided that Greg would be fine   
where he was for the time being, and joined the others as they stepped through   
the ever-shrinking portal.  
  
End of Part eight  
  
Coming soon: Rubeus's Fun House  
  
Well, I didn't want to have to do it, but I've forced myself to do so. I   
need another part to the story. I think that you can understand (can't you?).   
If not, or you just want to talk, then E-mail me at: jmh6187@uncwil.edu. I'll   
be writing until next time, so bye! 


	9. Rubeus's Magic Mansion

Okay, so this is it! I promise! Last part, then the next series starts.  
The characters in this story that aren't mine are Naoko Takeuchi's. The   
ones that are mine (Europa/Michael, Jennifer Hino, and a couple of others) are   
mine. If you want to use them, then tell your readers that I created them. But   
anyway, let's get on with the show now.  
I believe that this installment will have to be rated PG-13, but I'm not   
sure. Also, this may seem later on like it's a snuff-fic, but just stick with   
me. I wouldn't do that to the Sailor Senshi. :-) In hindsight, the fic really   
was fairly cliche, but I had a good time writing it. And since it's the final   
chapter of the series, you need to read it. Otherwise, I'd have left it out.  
  
Shadows From the Past  
by:M. H. Torringjan  
  
Part nine: Ruebus's Magic Mansion  
  
The portal swirled as the six Scouts, Tuxedo Mask, and three guardians   
stepped through it. In a split second, the Scouts found themselves in front of   
the base of the Negaverse's forces on earth. It looked like a large castle like   
in old horror films. Serena felt a shiver run up her skin as a cold wind howled   
around them. The sky there was as dark as it had been near the portal, creating   
a certain air of eeriness that made all the Scouts nervous.  
Luna asked Mercury to scan for any openings to the inside of the fortress.   
Mercury's visor was on her face in an instant as she scanned the building.   
After a while, it finally got to the useful stuff, and located five openings to   
the interior.  
"Luna, we've got something here," Mercury said. "There are five openings   
around the building. One is a sewer pipe that's large enough for two people to   
travel through comfortably. Another is an air duct leading from the western   
side inside. The third one is a window, unguarded on the inside, but there are   
light guards on the outside. Number four is a small tunnel into the sub-  
basement, which then leads into the main area of the base. The final one is a   
large chimney on the roof. It leads into a large room inside, that looks like a   
ball room."  
"A Negaverse base with a ball-room?" Venus said, confused.  
"Why would they need one?" Europa asked.  
"Ambiance? How should I know?" Luna said. "Here's what I do know. We'll   
have the best chance in there by going in five groups of two each."  
"Europa and I will go together," Venus said eagerly.  
"I'll go with Mercury," Mars said.  
"I will go with Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask said.  
"I guess that I'm stuck with Luna," Jupiter said.  
"NO!" Artemis snapped. He didn't want to be stuck with the psychopath   
dog.  
"What's wrong, Artemis?" Luna asked. "I was chosen legitimately by   
Jupiter, and that leaves you with Rigel. You'll probably meet with better   
success anyway. You've got no big humans to slow you down or get in your way."  
"That's easy for you to say," Artemis whined. "You don't have to stay   
with a dog with mental malfunctions."  
"I heard that," Rigel said, "And it won't help your popularity rating one   
little bit."  
"So, where are we going?" Moon asked.  
"Your choice," Luna said, crossing her fingers as best she could that she   
wouldn't be stuck with going through the sewers. Once was enough, and even   
then, more than enough.  
"We'll go into the window," Mercury said, indicating herself and Mars.  
"What were the other choices?" Moon asked.  
"The air duct, the tunnel, the chimney, the sewer," Mercury answered   
quickly.  
"I want the air duct," Moon said to Tuxedo Mask.  
"We'll take the tunnel," Venus said to Europa.  
"We get the chimney," Jupiter said quickly before Artemis could stake that   
claim. Rigel cursed under his breath about being stuck with a cat in a sewer   
pipe. The five groups split up and snuck to their different paths, being as   
quiet as they could.  
  
Mars and Mercury reached the spot where they could see their entrance with   
a fair amount of certainty that they could get in without attracting too much   
attention to themselves. There were only three guards at the window, but how to   
get rid of them without causing a distraction was a mystery until Mars solved   
the problem for them.  
She unwittingly stepped on the cliche stick, giving away their position to   
the enemy. The first two guards looked towards the bushes where Mars and   
Mercury hid and began to approach it. As the first one entered the underbrush,   
Mars grabbed it and pulled it into where she and Mercury were. It put up a good   
fight, but Mars ended up knocking it out. The second hadn't noticed its cohort   
being pulled into the bushes and had continued its search away from where Mars   
and Mercury were. It now looked up and noticed its friend gone, and, rushing   
over to where he had last seen the other guard, met the same fate.  
Mars took off the armor of the first and put it on. It was too big for   
her, and she hoped that the third guard wouldn't notice. Mercury put on the   
second one's armor, and it was a good fit. She went outside and got the third   
guard's attention. She summoned it over to where she and Mars were. They   
quickly dispatched it and left it where it was. She and Mars opened the window   
quietly and slipped into it.  
When they landed, they turned around to come face to face with an interior   
guard.  
"Is there any reason that you just came in through that window there?" the   
guard asked.  
"It was closer than the door," Mars answered in her most masculine voice   
that she could muster. "And we were feeling lazy."  
"So you climbed in a window, closed it, then climbed back down to the   
floor," the guard finished. Mercury vigorously nodded her head. "What is your   
name and rank?"  
"We are Tosha and Milga, peon guards," Mars answered again.  
"Doesn't sound like any rank I've heard before," the guard answered.  
"We're with a new troupe of guards," Mercury answered.  
"That's interesting, because I'm Lord Rubeus's highest ranking guard, and   
I wasn't informed about anything remotely resembling soldiers climbing through   
windows and making lame excuses." Mercury stood in stunned silence. The two of   
them would be in trouble if they didn't do something soon.  
"Well, we're on a secret mission for Lord Rubeus, so if you don't want to   
have to explain why the Lord's servants were late on your orders, you'd better   
let us go," Mercury spat out, thinking as she went along. The guard thought for   
a moment before waving them along.  
"Whew, that was close," Mars sighed. She didn't want the adventure to end   
quite that quickly. They looked around them to see if they could find something   
to identify with as they left. There was nothing in there, only a wall on each   
side of them. It wasn't even a particularly interesting wall, either. It was   
just a blank wall. The hallway was well-lit and incredibly long. It was hard   
to see the end of it, but Mars thought that she could just make out the outline   
of a tiny opening, well, tiny from her perspective. Oddly, it was the same view   
in the opposite direction.  
"Flip a coin to see which way we go?" Mars said coolly.  
"I say let's just go this way," Mercury said, indicating her left.  
"Works for me," Mars said, turning down the indicated path. She and   
Mercury walked in the same direction for a while, and they got nowhere. After a   
while, Mars looked back to notice that the window through which they had entered   
had disappeared. As she turned to tell Mercury, she saw a small sign on the   
wall that read:  
  
Hello, Scouts. I'd like to welcome you to my little base  
in the middle of nowhere. The first attraction that I'd like to show you  
two is the endless hallway.  
Now, this might not sound too appealing to you, but I've added  
some incentive to go down it. If you'll kindly look behind you again,   
Mars, you'll notice what I'm talking about.  
  
Mars, intrigued, looked back down the hallway again and saw what Rubeus   
was talking about. Behind them was a large mill stone, rolling down the hallway   
towards them.  
"Run!" Mars exclaimed, following her own advice. Mercury took a moment to   
observe what had set Mars to running, then joined her in fear and surprise.  
They ran down the hallway until they were tired out, which was, at the   
speed they were going, not a very long time. Mercury began to slow first, then   
was followed by Mars. Mars fell to the ground, weighed down by her armor, and   
Mercury joined her a moment later. Before she could hit the ground, though, a   
hole opened up in the floor, which carried them away. The last thing that   
Mercury could remember before she passed out was Rubeus's voice laughing at   
them.  
  
Luna and Jupiter were almost at the spot where they would climb to the   
roof when they encountered some guards. Luna was able to stop Jupiter from   
using her lightning, but just barely. Luna had a better idea. She would lure   
them away, then sneak back to Jupiter, and they would both go up onto the roof   
while the guards were distracted. Jupiter stayed in her place while Luna went   
off to do her job. A few moments later, Jupiter heard a large crash from off to   
her left, and the guards went rushing off to see what it was. Jupiter watched   
the direction from where the sound had come and saw the guards come out a moment   
later, carrying Luna, who was fervently trying to get away.  
"Good one, Luna," Jupiter said under her breath. "Screw it. I want to see   
some action. Jupiter Thunderclap, Zap!" The guards were struck down where they   
were by some large thunderbolts. The instant that this happened, Jupiter   
realized the err of her ways. Luna was flung from the hands of the guard that   
had her, and flew through the air towards Jupiter. Jupiter threw her hands up   
just in time to make a clean catch of Luna.  
"You okay, Luna?" Jupiter asked.  
"Beside the fact that I was just narrowly missed by a lightning bolt, I'm   
as good as one could be," Luna wheezed. "How about next time you try a wave of   
electricity flowing across the battlefield? It's more effective."  
"Oh, stop being bitter. It was an honest mistake," Jupiter said. "Look,   
do you see any guards swarming over us?"  
"No," Luna said. "That's odd. Look, let's just get inside. There's the   
place where we'll climb up to the chimney." They went over to the place where   
the structure had rotted out slightly and searched for some handholds. Some   
small holes were just out of Jupiter's reach, and another pair was right   
where Jupiter could get to them. Luna held on to Jupiter's shoulder as Jupiter   
climbed up the side of the wall.  
The two reached the top in a couple of minutes of climbing. On the roof,   
there was a small figure huddled at the back of the roof. On further   
investigation, Jupiter it turned out to be a maintenance worker, was asleep on   
the job. Jupiter let him be and went to open up the top of the chimney large   
enough so that they could get in and down it.  
After a few minutes of working, Jupiter got a hole large enough for Luna   
to crawl in the chimney. She put Luna in so that she could go down it and scout   
the surroundings. After Luna was down and out of sight, she began work on the   
chimney so that she could get in herself. She realized that the chimney was   
longer than she had originally thought when she couldn't hear Luna say anything   
back to her.  
She finally had a hole large enough to crawl in herself. She went down   
the tunnel-like chimney with a hand and a foot on each side of it. "Ho, ho,   
ho," she thought to herself. She climbed down for about ten minutes and saw the   
bottom with a light coming in through it. She dropped the rest of the way to   
the ground and looked around for Luna. She found the cat to the right of the   
opening of the chimney. Luna was licking some small wounds.  
"What's wrong with you?" Jupiter asked.  
"All I'm saying is that it's a good thing that I land on my feet," Luna   
said. "My legs absorbed most of the shock from the landing, but I still got   
hurt."  
"Are you still able to walk?" Jupiter asked.  
"I think so. It's just a few cuts, nothing serious the I know of."  
Jupiter and Luna continued on their way to search for the leader of the   
Droids and came across a room with a bunch of mirrors in it.  
"Luna, take a look at these," Jupiter said. She was examining the largest   
of the mirrors, seeing if there was something special about them. As she   
watched, Rubeus's face appeared in the glass of the mirror and she heard the   
door slam shut.  
"Well, Jupiter, It looks like your little bit of the adventure ends here,"   
Rubeus said from the mirror. Behind them, a small vent appeared in the wall and   
began to hiss. "That sound that you hear is gas. You have thirty seconds   
before you go unconscious, and I'll capture you."  
"Oh, good one," Jupiter said sarcastically. "Just go ahead and tell us   
your plans, like it matters. We spent precious seconds listening to you."  
"And precious more seconds complaining about it!" Rubeus gloated.  
Jupiter lost control of her emotions and broke the mirror. Rubeus's face   
appeared in the other mirrors and began laughing at Jupiter's futile attempts to   
escape. "This seems so familiar," Jupiter said and blacked out.  
  
Artemis and Rigel walked around to the sewer pipe and entered easily   
enough, Rigel grumbling all the way. There were no guards to bar their   
progress, so they just waltzed right in. The sewer pipe would have been big   
enough for a human to fit in, which made Rigel even angrier with the others. It   
wasn't like it was any big deal, walking through some sludge just to get inside.   
At least they wouldn't have to worry about any enemies.  
"Well, how long can this tunnel be?" Rigel said. "With our luck, it   
doesn't even lead into the base. Probably ends up at the North Pole or   
something."  
"Mercury's computer told us that it went inside, and I trust the   
computer," Artemis stated confidently.  
"Yeah, is that the same as your Scouts and their fearless leader?" Rigel   
said skeptically.  
"Oh, let off them. They did what you wanted, didn't they? We're here,   
where we're supposed to be, and that's what you wanted."  
"Well, I don't have much room to talk, anyway. My Scout doesn't take his   
job as seriously as he used to. It's like your Scouts changed him somehow."  
"I'm not surprised. We seem to have more fun than do our duty. At least,   
that's how Serena would like it to be. All he had to deal with when you were   
his only peer for Scout business was your expectations. Now, when he's here,   
he's got his Scout duties, his girlfriend, his school, his life."  
"You have a point, I suppose. Well, let's get on with it. We've got to   
hurry up, or we'll miss the action," Artemis said.  
"Sorry," a voice said from the shadows, "But you're going to miss the   
'action' anyway." A large monster rose out of the sludge that covered the   
ground, dripping with the stuff.  
"What in the...?!" Artemis exclaimed as the creature threw a sludge ball   
at the two animals. The sludge hit the animals with enough force to throw them   
on their backs, knocked out. The creature scooped them up and began to carry   
them away.  
  
Venus looked down the cavernous hole that was the tunnel, wondering what   
was in it. Europa was wondering the same thing, but more along the lines of   
what he could let his aggression out on. That was what fueled his fighting   
instinct, his aggression.  
The two entered the tunnel, which was pretty-well used. You could tell by   
the lights that were mounted on small pedestals along the path. The light level   
was low, but it was bright enough to still be able to make out the path. The   
walls were concrete and wet. It had been raining recently, so the ground was   
muddy outside, too.  
Venus felt fear trying to force its way into her mind, but she fought it   
off with the thought that she would be fine with a friend there with her. As   
they walked along the path, something scurried across the path, causing Venus to   
almost scream out. If Europa hadn't shut her mouth, she would have gotten the   
attention of the whole base. Europa was able to calm her down enough to show   
her that it was only a little rat. Well, little for the mutations that Rubeus   
had put the rats through in the place.  
When they got to the end of the path, they came to a small door in the   
floor of the room above them. They opened this, and found a small platoon of   
Nega-monsters staring straight at them and pointing their various types of   
weapons toward them.  
"I think that the most logical situation would be to fight," Europa   
whispered to Venus.  
"I'm going to have to agree with you," Venus said, jumping out of the hole   
and yelling her attack out. "Venus Love-chain, Encircle!" The love chain   
appeared from out of nowhere, coiling around most of the enemies and refusing to   
let go. The remaining few aimed their weapons and attacked. The first one was   
a blob of goo, which changed to look like and act like Venus. It yelled out her   
attack, and the chain circled around Venus. Europa came to Venus's rescue   
before it could do any real damage to her.  
"Europa Earth, Drop!" A small block of earth dropped on the doppelganger,   
squishing it flat. The chain which had wrapped around Venus fell to the ground,   
as limp as a normal chain. There wasn't much time to wait before the second of   
the five attacked. It was a creature which was so unspeakably evil that most of   
the Negaverse cringed at the mere mention of it. It was a pink, fuzzy bunny!  
"And it's so darned cute, too!" Europa said under his breath as the bunny   
threw razor-sharp hearts at them. Europa just barely got slashed across the   
wrist. It wasn't a deep enough cut to hit the artery, but it did bleed badly.   
He tore a bit off his costume and tied it up with that. "You're gonna pay for   
that!" Europa called out in rage. He let out all of his energy into one attack.   
"Europa Earth, Drop!" The room was full of earth where the creatures were   
standing.  
The two regrouped and headed for the nearest exit. That is, they would   
have if they hadn't been captured by a falling energy net. It came out of thin   
air and dropped on them. They were shocked by a strong current of electricity   
flowing through the strands of the net. They couldn't take much, and were   
knocked out in a split second.  
Rubeus stepped out of the corner from where he had observed the whole   
scene. If he could brainwash that Europa, he would be a valuable asset in the   
battle with Sailor Moon. No, Wiseman wanted all the Scouts for another reason.   
It was nice to dream, anyway. He mentally floated the two out of the room,   
still under the net. They would join their friends.  
  
Sailor Moon stared longingly at the air duct that was out of their reach.   
How would they get inside if this sort of thing happened to them? She looked   
around for Tuxedo Mask. He had disappeared the moment that Sailor Moon had   
discovered that the air duct was too high for her or him. Behind her, she heard   
a noise. It sounded small at first, growing in volume until the source of it   
burst from the line of trees that surrounded the castle.  
It was Tuxedo Mask, with his cane longer than usual. When he got closer,   
Sailor Moon could see that the cane had some sticks attached to it. Tuxedo Mask   
planted the cane firmly in the ground and used his momentum to vault himself up   
to the wall, near where the duct opened up. His foot was close enough to kick   
in the screen that covered the duct. He did this, then awkwardly worked his way   
into the duct. When he was safely inside, he reached his arm as far down as he   
could to help Sailor Moon up.  
They were both inside and they strained their eyes to see what was down   
the path ahead of them. There was no light except for the occasional dim light   
source from openings in the duct. The pair started walking, looking through the   
grating of each opening to see where they were in the base.  
The first grate was over the entry way to the base, which was guarded by   
what seemed to Sailor Moon like a hundred guards. The second one was a little   
further down and few turns later. It was over the ball room where Jupiter and   
Luna were supposed to have come out. Sailor moon caught her breath at the   
panoramic view of the dance floor, with its intricate pictures and complex   
color scheme. Tuxedo Mask was hardly able to drag her away from the view when   
they had to moved on.  
The third room was the prisoner's room, where the Crystal Carriers had   
been held. The room held occupants at that moment, too. Sailor Moon figured   
that they were probably just experiments of Rubeus's and moved on out of   
boredom. She was stopped short, though, by Tuxedo Mask calling her back and   
pointing her attention to the identities of the people.  
The people's faces were hard to make out, but she could tell after a   
Closer look that they were the other Scouts and the guardians. As they looked   
on, a sound was heard which vibrated the metal duct. Suddenly, a door opened   
beneath the two, dropping them into the room that they had been observing. They   
were caught by a creature that looked like one of those mad scientists that you   
see in the old, bad sci-fi movies and deposited on a table, where their hands   
and legs were secured by straps made out of some hard metal.  
As they were about to ask what was happening to them, Rubeus entered the   
room from his observing place. He laughed as the Scouts all tried futilely to   
escape.  
"You realize that you have made a colossal mistake by coming here," Rubeus   
said. "You won't win against me and my forces. Since you've caused me so much   
irritation, I'll just have to destroy you. That's annoying, isn't it?"  
"You'll never get away with this," Mercury said through gritted teeth.  
"I would expect you to say that, Mercury," Rubeus said. "But I've got an   
equally cliche saying for you. I already have." He turned to her and put his   
hand to her forehead. Mercury suddenly went into convulsions for a few moments   
before laying limp on the table where she was strapped in at. "Who wants to be   
next?" Rubeus said, gesturing to the Droid who was standing at the door. It   
moved to Mercury and un-strapped her, then it carried her away over its   
shoulder. The other Scouts were shocked at the event that had just happened in   
front of their eyes, and none spoke for fear of following the example that   
Rubeus had made of the helpless Mercury.  
Finally, Mars spoke. "Where did he take her?"  
"Mercury is going to the furnace to be burned," Rubeus responded. "You're   
all going to join her in time, but I'll just let you chill for a while." And   
with that statement, he left the Scouts to themselves, trying to figure out what   
they were going to do to escape.  
"Any ideas?" Venus asked, getting no response. "If only we could get over   
to that wall, the keys are over there." She pointed as best she could with her   
hand still trapped over to the wall opposite them, where the keys dangled,   
almost tauntingly off of a small hook.  
"Wait a minute," Europa said. "Mars, your armor is on, right?"  
"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Mars said. "Wait a minute, I see what you're   
saying! I'll heat up my armor to free myself, then get the key to free you   
all." She drew in a deep breath, sighing before setting her armor to its task.   
"Fire Armor, Sear!" The manacles melted away almost instantly, and Mars went to   
where the keys dangled from their hook. She made sure not to melt the keys when   
she picked them up to take them to Europa first.  
Before she could unlock him all the way, though, she was struck from   
behind by a sharp blast of energy from Rubeus. She slumped onto the table that   
held Europa. He noticed that she wasn't breathing. He couldn't tell if her   
pulse had stopped yet, but it was a good estimation judging by the force that   
Rubeus had put into the blast. Europa had felt the blast when it had hit Mars.   
The same Droid returned to take the body away to the same place that Mercury's   
body had gone. Rubeus replaced the keys on the hook.  
Only when they were alone did anybody speak again.  
"So Europa," Jupiter said, "I don't suppose that you'll be getting back in   
time for your tutoring session with Melvin."  
"That would be a good estimation," Europa replied. "Anyone else got any   
ideas?"   
Rigel called from his cage, "You've got one more power that we can use   
right now."  
"Why didn't you tell me about this before now?" Europa asked.  
"Well, it's not a very useful power, and we've never needed it before   
this, so I figured, what's the point? Anyway, you can use your Europa Magnets   
power to turn the shackles into magnets that can attract the keys," Rigel said.  
"Thanks loads, Rigel. Europa Magnets, Attract!" A power filled the   
metal, turning it into a magnet. The keys were pulled through the air to where   
they landed with a clank on the magnet near Europa's hand.  
Europa reached as best he could with his hand and grabbed the keys. He   
painfully twisted his hands to where they could put the keys in the hole and   
unlock his hand. After a little bit of work, he had his hand free and was   
working on the other one. As he was working, Rubeus came in to check on his   
prisoners. Europa quickly hid the key in his pocket and put his hand back in   
the shackle without locking it.  
"So, how are my little friends doing now?" Rubeus asked, walking over to   
Moon.  
"What do you want with us?" Moon asked.  
"You don't know by now?" Rubeus asked. "I want you all dead. You don't   
mess with the Dark Moon and get away with it."  
"Why don't you just kill us all at once then?" Venus asked.  
"First of all, it's not fun that way. Second of all, I want you to suffer   
by seeing your comrades die. You will eventually go mad and want to die   
yourself." To accent his point, he took aim with his hand and shot Jupiter.   
She wasn't dead, Moon could tell, but if she wasn't rushed somewhere quickly,   
she would die.  
"You know," Europa said, "There's an easier way to make us go crazy. Just   
show us really bad movies until our brains turn to slush."  
"I tried that with another person, and it didn't work at all," Rubeus   
replied with a sniff. "I'll just leave you all to yourselves." And he left the   
room.  
Europa took his hand from out of the metal shackle and took the key from   
his pocket. He began working on his other hand again until it was free. Then   
he started on the feet. As he began working on his right foot, Rubeus entered   
again. Seeing Europa freeing himself, he took a blast at Europa. Europa ducked   
under the blast and used his power.  
"Europa Sandstorm, Blow!" The air was full of sand particles, blowing at   
Rubeus and stinging his eyes. Europa got back to his work of unlocking his   
feet, and when he wasn't looking, Rubeus took another shot. The shot hit   
Europa, who, ironically, had just gotten his last foot free. The shot wasn't   
hard enough to kill Europa, but it did knock him for a loop. He hit the back   
wall and went unconscious.  
"Stupid freak," Rubeus said under his breath as he left the room.  
"So, do we have any more bright ideas?" Tuxedo Mask asked.  
"Well, if I could reach my meatballs, then I could pick the lock," Sailor   
Moon said.  
"What do you mean?" Venus asked.  
"What? You think that this 'do is normal? I need some major hair pins to   
keep these up." Serena bent her head over to her hands and started searching   
through her meatballs for a hair pin. When she found one, she started picking   
her lock. Without any training, she didn't know a thing about what she was   
doing, but she was able to figure it out after a couple of minutes. She had her   
hand free and was working on the other one. Soon, she was completely free and   
had the key in her hand. She had the others out in a matter of moments. They   
went to check Europa and Jupiter.  
He was in good shape for the most part, but they didn't know the extent of   
his injuries. Jupiter wasn't half as well off as Europa. Rigel took a small   
black box out of his subspace pocket and pointed it at Europa and Jupiter. He   
turned it on and they vanished.  
"Where'd they go?" Venus asked.  
"I sent them to Central Command. They'll take care of Jupiter and Europa,   
and they'll be fine in a day or two, if I know my injuries," Rigel answered.  
The two remaining Scouts, Tuxedo Mask, and the guardians left the room   
after scanning the hallway to be sure that it was safe. They walked in the   
direction that they had seen Rubeus go when he left the room and followed the   
hallway. When they got to a point where there was a hallway intersecting their   
own, they stopped to consider which way to go.  
After a moment of deliberating, they decided to keep on the original path.   
They started walking down the path, and they heard the sound of Raye screaming   
from the other path. Without thinking, they started running towards the voice.   
They found Raye being held under a bed of spikes, and the bed being lowered on   
her. Venus was the first to react, running towards Raye.  
When she was about to reach for Raye to save her, the floor dropped out   
from under Venus. Venus was able to grab the ledge to keep from falling. She   
looked below herself and saw a pit of spikes, with snakes crawling around in the   
pit. She truly didn't want to go in there. According to Rubeus, though, who   
showed up just as she fell in, she didn't have much of a choice.  
"You will die!" Rubeus said, stamping on Venus's fingers. She let go with   
one hand, getting it stamped on each time that she put it back, then the other   
let go. She felt the spinning sensation of falling, and then, a split second of   
pain, in which she cried out.  
  
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask stood in utter astonishment as they saw Venus   
fall away from the side of the pit into the bottom. Sailor Moon heard the   
scream, then looked away in pain.  
Rubeus teleported away, leaving the others to mourn their losses. Tuxedo   
Mask walked over to the edge of the pit and looked in. There had been snakes in   
the pit, which were already swarming over their food for the month.  
He could hardly see any of what was left of Venus, and by the looks of the   
spikes at the bottom, he was glad that he couldn't. He walked over to Moon and   
wrapped her in a reassuring embrace. She felt safe in his grasp, and that was   
comforting, but only slightly. They still had to either destroy Rubeus or get   
killed themselves. Neither of them liked the latter choice.  
Luna and the other guardians walked up and gave their opinion of the whole   
situation.  
"We've got to get out of here," Luna said.  
"We should get rid of Rubeus first," Artemis said.  
"And quickly," Rigel confirmed.  
"But how?" Moon asked. "There's only two of us here."  
"That doesn't mean that we can't win," Tuxedo said.  
They went on in the direction that they had originally been going, and   
eventually came to a large, ornately decorated door, made out of oak from the   
look of it. They pushed it open with a considerable amount of effort.  
Inside was a large chair that was more like a throne, made of gold and   
upholstered in red material that looked like silk. They approached the chair,   
and a flash of light went through the room. When everyone's eyes had readjusted   
to the dark, they saw Rubeus sitting in the chair, looking very smug.  
"So, you've finally decided to join me here for your own deaths," Rubeus   
said.  
"What are you talking about?" Moon asked. "We're the ones who are going   
to defeat you!"  
"Oh, but I disagree. You know how music can affect the outcome of a   
battle? Well, I've hired someone to play a special number just for this   
occasion." A light shone on a corner, where a band was sitting with its   
instruments at the ready. Rubeus started them up, and they began playing a   
funeral dirge. "You'll be hearing your own dirge play as you go to the grave."  
"I don't think so!" Tuxedo Mask said, throwing some roses at the stunned   
Rubeus. The first rose caught Rubeus across the face, sending him spinning.   
The rest pinned him all over the body, sending small rivulets of blood down his   
clothes.  
He turned back to the two heroes, sending curses their way, then   
attacking. He shot some blasts towards them. Tuxedo was able to dodge with   
plenty of time, but Sailor Moon tripped over herself. She wasn't able to get up   
in time to get out of the way of the blasts. She screamed in fear. She didn't   
want to die. She doesn't have to die, Artemis thought as he jumped in the way   
of the oncoming blast. He was knocked into Sailor Moon.  
"Artemis, you saved me!" Sailor moon said as she cradled the injured cat   
in her arms.  
"I know, Princess," Artemis said, closing his eyes for the last time.   
Sailor Moon was too hurt by this to let Rubeus get away with it. She stood up   
and took out her Scepter. She aimed it towards Rubeus and put all her remaining   
energy into the one blast.  
"Moon Scepter, ELIMINATION!" The Scepter went to its work, pouring out   
energy onto the enemy and his band. The band disintegrated in a few moments,   
but Rubeus had a force field up, protecting him from the initial attack. Tuxedo   
Mask could see Moon tiring and could also see that Rubeus wasn't weakening. He   
rushed to Moon and grabbed her. He was able to transfer his energy to her to   
give her the blast that was needed to cripple the force-field and hit Rubeus.  
Rubeus felt the attack breaching his force-field and started to panic. As   
he felt the energy hit him, he gave up. He dropped the force-field and fell to   
the floor. His mind was clear for the first time in his life.  
"Sailor Moon, You've defeated me! I was going to kill you, but I   
couldn't. Please, you must listen to me. During the first part of my life, I   
was good. The Dark Moon came and took my life and home for their own. They   
forced me into servitude and brainwashed me. If you can forgive me, then I can   
die a happy man."  
"I forgive you," Moon said. Rubeus smiled as he disappeared into nothing,   
his life ending. With that, she broke into tears. Too many lives had been lost   
on this mission. She wanted to have her friends back, but there was no way to   
get it. Tuxedo helped her to her feet, for she had sunk to her knees during her   
crying. She looked back at the spot where she had been sitting, and saw why he   
had pulled her away.  
Where her tears had fallen, there were small holes in the floor, growing   
larger by the moment. The holes emitted a silver light, lighting the dim room.   
When the holes had grown to about five feet in width, they stopped growing.  
"What are they?" Sailor Moon asked, awestruck by the utter beauty of the   
pools of silver. It looked like mercury in its purest.  
"They're emotion pools," Luna said. "They're very rare, only occurring   
once in a lifetime. I've only heard of them once before, but it was during the   
Silver Millennium. They're used to recover the dead at the price of a life.   
You must only attempt it if you truly want the person brought back, or it won't   
work."  
"I want them back," Moon said, stepping toward the pools.  
"Wait, Princess," Rigel said, stopping her. "You don't have to go. I'll   
do it."  
"Why should you have to give your life for them?" Sailor Moon asked.  
"So that you don't have to. You're the Princess, and the others are   
needed to guide you. I've served my purpose, training Europa. I'll be all   
right. Besides, these things happen so often, I figure, what the hell! Maybe   
you'll find a way to save me some day!" Rigel looked at Luna and asked, "So,   
how do these things work, anyway?"  
"Step in, and look for the spirit or spirits, in our case, and push them   
back towards the opening. They'll emerge unscathed, and you'll be trapped there   
for the rest of your life in their stead."  
"Sounds like a good deal," Rigel said, stepping into the pool. He   
disappeared below the surface, which didn't ripple at all. It just emitted the   
same eerie light. After a few moments, Mercury emerged, followed by Mars,   
Artemis, and Venus. They all had puzzled looks on their faces.  
When all four had emerged completely and were away from the pools, the   
pools disappeared. Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, and Luna rushed over to the others   
and embraced them tightly.  
"What happened?" Mars asked.  
"It's a long story," Luna said. "Let's just say that you can know what   
your mom went through on a smaller scale."  
"Let's get out of here," Moon said.  
"Wait," Venus said, "Where's Rigel?"  
"He gave his life to save you all," Tuxedo Mask said. "He did it by his   
own consent, and he knew that he wouldn't be coming back."  
"I swear on behalf of the Moon that I will find a way to bring Rigel   
back," Moon said. "Considering the fact that I keep finding ways to resurrect   
everyone else, it doesn't seem too impossible."  
"Yeah, well, I don't think that Michael will be too happy to find out that   
his dog has died," Venus said.  
"When he learns that it was in order to bring you back, he'll understand,"   
Mercury said.  
"Can we get out of here?" Moon asked impatiently.  
The four Scouts gathered together in a close circle and chanted the words,   
"Scout Power, Scout Teleport." Almost instantly, they were teleported out of   
the room to their home.  
  
A long distance above the Earth, a UFO hung in the air silently and   
undetected. A figure watched from the inside of that UFO at the scene that had   
just taken place in his castle.  
"They're stronger than I thought," Rubeus said to himself. "It's a good   
thing that I made that replica of myself as a precautionary measure against this   
sort of thing happening. I just hope that Wiseman doesn't find out about this.   
Hmph! Started my life as good- Who programmed that thing, anyway?"  
The UFO moved out of its position and into space to do some heavy research   
and development before its next offensive on the planet. Rubeus reasoned that   
he might have more luck by trying to attack different parts of the planet.  
  
A few mornings later, Michael awoke in his bed, as usual. Rigel wasn't at   
the foot of his bed. Michael wondered why. Rigel always loved waking him up.  
Michael went through his usual morning routine without thinking another   
thing about Rigel. He left his house a little early so that he could go talk to   
Serena before class started. When he got to class, he found someone who he   
hadn't expected to see. Amy was sitting at her desk, and Michael joined her. He   
asked her about what had happened after he had left so that she could be there.   
She didn't reply for a long time. Michael could sense something in her manner   
that suggested sadness.  
"What happened?" he asked.  
"Rigel sacrificed himself to save us," Amy said with tears sparkling in   
her eyes. Michael could feel some welling up in his own. He had loved Rigel so   
much during the years that he had known Rigel, and now, Rigel was gone. "It was   
the only way to do it. He went very peacefully, it was his own decision."  
"I figured that he would go like that," Michael said, "Or something about   
choking on dog food. I'll just have to get on with my life now."  
"Yes, it's not like it was you who died. You've got to be thankful about   
our own lives and his actions. He wouldn't want you to go on in any other way   
than normal."  
"I can get over it, just like I had to get over giving my cats away to get   
Rigel. Maybe we can get more cats now. Oh, well, I've got to get to my desk   
now. Class is starting." He sat down at his desk, and the instant that Ms.   
Haruna started teaching, he felt back in his element. He would get over this   
through learning and fun. The concert was that night. He would take Mina, and   
they would forget about their priorities for one night. One enjoyable night.  
  
End of Shadows From the Past.  
  
Coming soon: Missing Crystals Series part one  
  
MAN, THAT WAS LONG!!! I never meant to drag it out like that, but that's   
the way that I am sometimes. When I'm writing things to post, I try to minimize   
the lengths. When I write for myself, I write for hundreds of pages. But,   
that's not the point.  
E-mail me at: jmh6187@uncwil.edu. I'll read anything and reply if I can.   
See you next time! 


End file.
